IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Sciences 

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Microfiche 

Series. 


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Collection  de 
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D 


D 
D 

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empreinte. 


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Un  des  symboles  sulvants  apparaftra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
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OONNILL.  ■(lOtNIIOK 

LIIUT.    QNIILV. 


TH«  HUKVIVORS  OM    IIUAKI)  THK  TIII'TIS    AT  OlSKO. 


THE 


KESCUE    of    GrREELY 


I 


BY 


COMMANDER   W.    S.    SCHLEY,    U.S.N. 

COyUANDINO  TilB   RELIEF  EXPEDITION  OP   1834 


AND 


PROFESSOR   J.    R.    SOLEY,    U.  S.  N. 


ILLUSTRATED    FROM    THE   PffOTOGRAPH':   AND   MAPS   OF    THE 

RELIEF  EXPEDITION 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES    SCRTBNER'S    SONS 

1885 


COPYRIOHT,   1885,   BV 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


Edward  O.  JenkinV  Sons. 


■J%^1^ 


PREFACE. 


The  bifitory  of  the  rescue  of  Greely  and  the  other  surviv- 
ors of  his  party  would  hardly  be  complete  without  some 
account  of  the  original  expedition  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  and 
of  the  two  voyages  undertaken  for  its  relief  before  it  left 
Discovery  Harbor.  In  giving  this  account,  it  has  been  the 
aim  of  the  writers  to  describe  the  events  simply  as  they  oc- 
curred, and  studiously  to  avoid  all  criticism  of  those  who 
took  part  in  them.  The  facts  are  to  be  found  for  the  most 
part  in  the  voluminous  testimony  taken  before  the  Court  of 
Inquiry,  and  in  the  reports  and  oflBcial  correspondence  an- 
nexed to  the  proceedings  of  the  Court. 

The  history  of  the  Circumpolar  Stations  is  chiefly  derived 
from  the  Mittheilungen  published  from  time  to  time  by  the 
International  Polar  Commission. 

The  illustrations  in  the  book  are  from  photographs  taken 
during  the  voyage  of  the  Relief  Expedition  of  1884,  the  neg- 
atives having  been  further  treated  by  Mr.  M.  P.  Rice,  of 
Washington,  before  impressions  were  made. 

The  writers  desire  to  express  their  obligations  for  the  as- 
sistance given  them  by  various  oflicers  of  the  Relief  Squad- 
ron, in  the  preparation  of  the  latter  part  of  the  work. 

(ill) 


I 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Gateway  of  the  Polar  Sea, 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Circumpolar  Stations,     . 


11 


CHAPTER  III. 
The  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition, 


•  • 


.    20 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Relief  Expedition  of  1882  :  The  Nkptune^      .       .    35 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Reuef  Expedition  of  1883  :  The  Proteus,       .       .    47 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Retreat  from  the  Wreck  of  the  Proteus,    .       .    73 


CHAPTER  VII. 
What  was  to  be  done  for  Greet  y  ? 


95 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Preparations  for  the  Relief  Expedition  of  1884,  .  113 


CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadron, 


»  • 


.  139 


(V) 


▼i  Contents. 

CHAPTER  X. 
Melville  Bay, 170 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Cape  York  to  Littleton  Isiand, 196 

CHAPTER  Xn. 
The  Rescue, 211 

CHAPTER  Xni 
Cape  Sabine  to  Disko, 238 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
The  Return  Home, 266 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Survivors  on  Board  the  Thetis  at  Disko,  Frontispiece. 
Lifeboat  Cove  and  Littleton  Island,         To  face  page     76 

Berg  near  Upernivik,  165 

Relief  Ships  and  Whalers  Moored  to  the  Floe,  .  172 
The  Tbetis  Nipped  off  Horse  Head,  .  .  .  .175 
The  Arctic  Waitinq   for  a    Lead  near  the  Duck 

Islands,  187 

Bow  of  the  Thetis  in  the  Iob  off  Cape  York,  .  .  196 
The  Thetis  WAiTiNa  for  a  Lead  at  Conical  Rock.     .    198 

The  Bear  in  the  Pack, 208 

Greely's  Cairn  on  Stalknecht  Island,    .       .       .       .213 

The  Tent  at  Camp  Clay, 229 

The  Graves, 232 

Conical  Rock,  with  Cairn  on  the  Summit,      .  .    246 

Passing  an  Iceberg  off  the  Waigat,       .       .  .260 


LIST    OP    MAPS. 
{The  maps  are  placed  at  the  end  of  the  book.) 

Smith  Sound,  showing  Cape  Sabine  and  Littleton  Island. 

Track  Chart  of  the  Greely  Reuef  Expedition  of  1884. 
(In  three  sections.) 

Official  Chart  of  the  Region  from  Baffin  Bay  to  Lincoln 

Sea. 

(vii) 


» 


1 1 


THE 


Rescue  of  Greely. 


CHAPTER   I. 


THE  GATEWAY  OF  THE  POLAE  SEA. 


Although  every  Btudent  of  Arctic  exploration  is  familiar 
with  the  series  of  long,  narrow  channels  that  separate  the 
coast  of  Greenland  from  the  labyrinth  of  straits  and  islands 
north  of  the  American  Continent,  it  may  be  well  to  give 
once  more  a  sketch  of  their  characteristic  features,  upon 
which  so  much  depended  in  the  events  of  which  this  book 
x'ecites  the  story. 

Of  the  three  entrances  to  the  Polar  Ocean,  by  Behring 
Strait,  by  the  North  Atlantic,  and  by  Baffin  Bay,  the  last 
has  aroused  by  far  the  greatest  interest,  and  has  been  the 
scene  of  the  most  numerous  and  successful  expeditions,  espe- 
cially of  American  explorers.  For  a  long  time  after  the 
voyage  of  Baffin  in  1616,  little  was  known  or  thought  of 
it.  Even  in  this  century,  the  absorbing  problem  of  Arctic 
navigators  was  the  discovery,  not  of  the  Pole,  but  of  the 
Northwest  Passage,  and  the  voyage  of  Sir  John  Franklin  in 
1845  v;rith  this  object,  together  with  the  innumerable  expe- 
ditions to  ascertain  his  fate,  resulted  in  mapping  out  with 
fullness  and  comparative  accuracy  the  islands  of  the  North 


i 


2 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


American  archipelago.  In  1352,  however,  Captain  Ingle- 
iield,  of  tlie  Royal  Navy,  also  engaged  in  the  Franklin  search, 
visited  Smith  Sound.  After  him  came  the  second  Grinnell 
Expedition  under  Dr.  Kane  in  1853,  the  expedition  of  Dr. 
Ilnyes  in  18C0,  that  of  Hall  in  the  Polaris  in  1871,  and 
that  of  Nares  in  tlie  Alert  and  Discovery  in  1875  and  1876, 
each  going  beyond  its  predecessor  and  each  contributing  its 
important  additions  to  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the 
region.  Last  of  all  has  set  out  and  returned  the  Lady  Frank- 
lin Bay  Expedition,  which  has  surpassed  the  furthest  north- 
cm  limit  of  the  Alert  and  Discovery,  placing  its  83°  24.  5', 
the  northern  latitude  of  Lockwood,  beside  the  83°  20'  20'' 
of  Kaikham,  and  adding  by  actual  discovery  and  survey  a 
numlxjr  of  miles  to  the  previously  known  geographical  ex- 
tent of  the  North  Greenland  sliores. 

Due  north  from  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  at  a  distance 
of  1,300  miles,  lies  the  little  settlement  of  Lievely,  on  the 
island  of  Disko.  It  is  the  principal  one  among  the  northern 
group  of  Danish  trading  posts  on  tlie  west  coast  of  Green- 
land, and  its  sheltered  harbor,  called  Godhavn,  makes  it  a 
convenient  nnd  usual  point  of  departure  for  all  expeditions 
making  for  Smith  Sound  and  the  waters  beyond.  Its  im- 
portance is  increased  by  the  neighborhood  of  the  coal  mines 
at  the  KudliscBt  cliffs,  wliich  lie  on  the  shore  of  the  Waigat, 
a  long  strait  separating  Disko  Island  from  the  mahilanJ. 

From  Godhavn  to  Upernivik  the  way  lies  either  through 
the  Waigat,  or  around  the  western  shore  of  the  island,  across 
the  broad  estuary  known  as  the  Omenak  Fiord,  and  past  the 
little  village  of  Proven.  Upernivik  lies  on  an  island  forty 
miles  beyond  Proven.  Its  liarl>or  is  an  open  roadstead,  ex- 
posed to  gales  from  the  south  and  west,  with  do  good  holding 


The  Gateway  of  the  Polar  Sea. 


8 


ground,  and  subject  to  the  inroads  r  f  drifting  icebergs,  which 
are  kept  in  constant  motion  by  the  .-trong  winds  and  currents, 
and  make  the  anchorage  a  difficult  and  dangerous  one  for 
ships. 

The  coast  beyond  Upemivik  as  far  as  the  Duck  Islands  is 
as  ugly  a  bit  of  navigation  n»i  one  would  care  to  find.  The 
shore  is  bold  and  cut  up  into  ribbons  by  numbers  of  bays  and 
estuaries,  while  the  waters  are  filled  with  little  islands  whose 
position  is  imperfectly  ascertained,  and  with  countless  sub- 
merged rocks  and  shoals  and  hidden  dangers  absolutely  un- 
known and  uncharted.  The  position  of  Tassuisak  even,  the 
northernmost  of  thd  Danish  settlements — a  little  cluster  of 
huts  in  a  deep  bay,  midway  between  Upemivik  and  the 
Duck  Islands — is  given  on  the  Admiralty  charts  as  "  approx- 
imate." The  points  marked  definitely  on  the  charts  are  as 
likely  to  be  wrong  as  right,  so  hurriedly  and  imperfectly  has 
the  coast  been  surveyed ;  most  of  the  vessels  that  have  vis- 
ited the  region  having  had  all  that  they  could  do  to  get  through 
or  past  the  spot,  in  time  to  accomplish  more  important  work 
at  points  beyond. 

West  of  the  Greenland  coast  lies  the  great  cxpanso  of  Baf- 
fin Bay.  As  far  as  Disko,  and  in  the  midsummer  season 
even  as  far  as  Upemivik,  navigation  is  usually  attended  with 
little  danger,  but  as  soon  as  a  vessel  starts  across,  from  which- 
ever point  she  sets  out,  her  difficulties  begin.  One  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  north  of  Upernivik  the  shore  turns  sharply  to 
the  westward,  following  this  course  another  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  to  Capo  Dudley  Diggos,  whore  it  turns  again  to 
the  north.  The  bight  thus  formed  is  Melville  Bay.  A  few 
miles  oast  of  Capo  Dudley  Diggcs  is  ("Jape  York,  and  it  is  to 
this  point  that  all  Hliips  crossing  Melvillf  Bay  are  directed. 


I 


!| 


4  The  Rescue  of  GreeVy. 

The  run  across  is  justly  dreaded  by  Arctic  navigators.  Even 
the  whalers  who  go  there  every  summer  are  more  anxious 
about  Melville  Bay  than  any  other  point.  There  are  two 
ways  of  getting  across — the  Northern  Passage  following  the 
curve  of  the  coast,  and  the  Middle  Passage  in  a  direct  line 
across  the  Bay.  Early  in  the  season  the  first  only  is  practi- 
cable. At  that  time  the  whole  sheet  of  water  is  filled  with 
the  "  middle  pack  " — a  vast  field  of  ice  which  represents  the 
accumulations  of  years  firmly  held  together  by  the  additions 
of  the  winter  before.  The  pack  is  generally  out  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  swiftest  current  passing  south  from  Smith 
Sound  to  Davis  Strait,  but  drifts  with  the  winds  and  currents 
back  and  forth  across  Melville  Bay.  Sometimes  it  leaves  a 
stretch  of  open  water,  sometimes  again  it  closes  up  against 
the  land  ice,  which  forms  a  belt  along  the  coast  varying  in 
width  from  one  hundred  yards  to  fifteen  or  twenty  miles,  as 
solid  and  impenetrable  as  terra  firma.  By  the  middle  of  July 
or  the  first  of  August  the  pack  is  generally  either  broken  up 
into  floes  or  has  drifted  to  the  southward  and  westward  into 
Baftin  Bay,  so  that  a  passage  may  then  be  made  with  care  di- 
rectly across  to  Cape  York.  Early  in  the  season,  however,  a 
ship  must  take  the  Northern  Passage,  skirting  the  land  ice 
and  following  the  seam  of  water  which  lies  between  it  and 
the  pack,  and  defines  the  edge  of  l>oth  more  or  less  distinctly, 
— generally,  however,  less  rather  than  more,  especially  when 
a  southerly  wind  drives  the  pack  on  the  land  ice,  until  the 
two  bccojne  glued  togetlier  in  what  seems  for  the  time  a 
homogeneous  mass. 

Whichever  passage  is  taken  there  is  always  a  possibility  of 
encountering  the  pack,  although,  from  the  number  of  ves- 
sels that  have  crossed  in  recent  years  in   August  or   late 


The  Gateway  of  the  Polar  Sea.  6 

in  July,  the  run  over  at  this  season  would  seem  to  be  com- 
paratively easy  for  a  cautious  navigator.  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, the  middle  pack  is  caught  in  the  current  and  drifts 
away  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  southward.  The  Fox,  the 
lafit  of  the  Franklin  search  vessels,  commanded  by  Captain 
McClintock,  in  August,  1857,  could  not  find  any  middle  pas- 
sage, and  though  well  to  the  northward,  was  beset  in  the 
middle  pack,  and  was  unable  to  extricate  herself  until  the 
following  April.  During  these  eight  months  she  drifted 
twelve  hundred  miles  in  the  ice  to  a  point  nearly  opposite 
Cape  Farewell,  the  southern  extremity  of  Greenland. 

After  rounding  Capo  York,  the  navigator  enters  a  sheet 
of  water,  of  large  extent  and  triangular  in  outline,  be- 
tween the  coasts  of  Greenland  and  Ellesmere  Land.  The 
shores  gradually  approach  until  at  the  northern  apex  of  the 
triangle  they  are  only  twenty  miles  or  so  apart.  At  this 
point  Cape  Alexander  on  the  Greenland  coast,  and  Capo 
Isabella  in  Ellesmere  Land, — the  "Northern  Pillars  of 
Hercules,"  m  they  were  well  called  by  Dr.  Bessels, — mark 
the  entrance  to  Smith  Sound,  which  gives  access  to  the  diffi- 
cult waters  beyond.  No  name  has  been  affixed  to  the  trian- 
gular body  of  water  above  Cape  York,  but  it  will  be  called 
for  convenience  lower  Smith  Sound. 

It  is  hero  that  vessels  penetrating  or  skirting  the  ice  of 
Melville  Bay  find  the  "  North  Water," — a  name  given  by 
the  whalers  to  the  water-space  loft  open  by  the  progress 
southward  of  the  winter  pack.  It  is  generally  met  not  long 
nfter  passing  the  promontory  of  which  Cape  York  and  Capo 
Dudley  Digges  are  the  principal  points.  But  it  may  be 
found  much  lower  down  ;  and,  on  the  other  han<l,  there  are 
Hoasons  in  which,  until  late  at  least,  it  hardly  seems  to  exist 


.6 


I, 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Ore^ly. 


at  all.  The  testimony  of  the  explorers  agrees  only  in  the 
utter  variety  and  uncertainty  of  the  icti-movements,  and  tlie 
impossibility  of  fastening  upon  any  general  law  to  govern 
them,  and  of  predicting  their  character  and  extent,  even  on 
the  spot  from  day  to  day.  McClintock  says  that  nothing  is 
more  uncertain  than  ice-navigation,  and  that  one  can  only 
calculate  upon  the  chances ;  while  Sir  Allen  Young,  who 
commanded  the  Pandora  in  1876,  gives  as  his  opinion : 
"  All  projects  connected  with  Arctic  navigation  must  neces- 
sarily be  very  speculative,  and  it  is  out  of  all  human  fore- 
sight to  anticipate  events  in  those  regions."  It  appears  to 
be  a  fact  that  navigation  is  easier  in  July  and  early  in 
August  tlian  it  is  before  and  after  that  period ;  but  beyond 
this  no  general  conclusion  can  be  stated,  and  no  better 
evidence  of  tliis  is  to  be  found  than  in  tlie  various  voyages 
which  had  their  immediate  or  proximate  origin  in  the  ex- 
pedition to  Lady  Franklin  Bay. 

The  course  of  vessels  after  leaving  Cape  York  depends 
somewhat  on  the  state  of  the  ice,  but  it  generally  deviates 
little  from  the  line  of  the  eastern  shore.  Passing  by  Conical 
Rock,  an  isolated  peak  which  f(»rm8  a  conspicuous  land- 
mark, the  coast  trends  to  the  northward  to  Cape  Dudley 
Digges  and  on  to  Capo  Athol.  Beyond  Cape  Athol  lies 
Saunders  Island,  at  the  entrance  to  Wolstouholme  Sound, 
which,  like  most  of  these  inlets,  forms  the  embouchure  of  a 
glacier-river.  The  whole  interior  is  covered  by  ice,  and  the 
glaciers  pressing  down  the  slopes  between  headlands  on  the 
coast,  discliai'ge  great  masses  of  ice,  which  break  off  and 
drift  away  as  icebergs.  Every  nook  and  corner  along  the 
shore  north  of  Cape  York  sends  out  its  crop  of  bergs,  many 
of  which,  piussing  southward  with  the  current,  are  carried 


il 


111 


il 


iU 


The.  Gateway  of  the  Polar  Sea.  7 

out  through  Baffin  Bay  and  Davis  Strait  to  the  ocean.  Many 
of  them  grounu  about  Cape  York,  and  may  remain  there 
for  months ;  but  the  larger  number  drift  hither  and  thither,  in 
and  about  the  waters  where  they  were  launched,  a  constant 
source  of  anxiety  and  danger  to  navigators. 

In  a  branch  of  Wolstenholme  Sound,  called  North  Star  Bay, 
is  an  Eskimo  village.  There  are  several  of  these  villages 
upon  the  Greenland  shore,  with  a  scanty  population  of  Etali 
Eskimo,  who  remain  through  the  winter,  never  crossing 
Melville  Bay,  but  spreading  along  the  coast  to  the  north- 
ward in  hunting  and  fishing  parties  during  the  summer, 
when  the  whole  region  abounds  in  game — seal,  walrus,  rein- 
deer, and  birds. 

Forty  miles  to  the  westward  of  Saunders  Island  lies  a 
little  group  known  as  the  Gary  Islands.  Lying  well  off  from 
the  shore,  and  generally  accessible  to  ships,  they  are  a  favor- 
ite station  with  expeditions  to  this  region,  which  almost 
always  leave  a  record  hero  on  the  way  north.  Being  also 
comparatively  inaccessible  to  the  natives,  who  are  always 
ready  to  plunder  anything  they  can  find,  the  islands  are  a 
good  place  for  a  cache,  or  de})ot  of  provisions.  It  was  on 
the  Southeast  Gary  Island  that  Captain  Nares,  in  the  English 
expedition  of  1875,  composed  of  the  Alert  and  Dimovery 
landed  his  first  depot  of  1,800  rations,  which  were  still  in 
1884  found,  for  the  most  part,  in  good  condition. 

Beyond  Wolstenholme  Sound  and  Samiders  Islan<l  jutn  out 
tiie  bold  headland  of  Cape  Parry.  To  the  north  tlie  land 
ngain  makes  in,  forming  Inglefield  Gulf,  with  tliree  islands 
at  its  entrance — Herbert,  Nortlmmberland,  and  llakluyt 
Island.  The  outermost,  llakluyt  Islaiul,  which  was  the  north- 
ern limit  of  Baffin's  voyage,  two  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  is 


't   i 


8 


TTie  HesGue  of  Oreely. 


directly  north  of  the  Gary  Islands,  and  is  similarly  used  as  a 
rendezvous,  or  as  a  place  of  communication.  The  three 
islands  are  separated  by  Whale  Sound  from  Cape  Parry  on 
the  south,  and  by  Murchison  Sound  from  Cape  Robertson  on 
the  north.  The  promontory  from  which  the  latter  projects 
extends  far  out  to  the  westward,  beyond  the  coast-line  below, 
and  forms  the  eastern  shore  of  Sm'th  Sound. 

This  sound — or  strait,  as  it  would  properly  be  called — ^is 
the  central  point  of  interest  in  the  Greenland  waters.  Its 
shores  have  been  the  scene  of  many  perilous  adventures  and 
narrow  escapes.  From  Cape  Alexander  to  Cairn  Point,  on 
the  eastern  side,  r.nd  from  Cape  Isabella  to  Cape  Sabine,  on 
the  west,  every  headland  and  bay  recalls  some  incident  in  the 
history  of  the  expeditions  of  the  last  thirty  years.  It  was 
iit  Ilartstene  Bay,  just  north  of  Cape  Alexander,  that  the  re- 
lief expedition  sent  out  under  Hartstene,  in  1851',  to  rescue 
Dr.  Kane,  found  a  harbor.  A  branch  of  Hartstene  Bay 
forms  Pandora  Harbor,  named  for  Sir  Allen  Youngs  ship, 
which  twice  went  up  in  quest  of  news  from  the  Alert  and 
Discovery.  A  little  further  to  tlie  north  is  Foulke  Fiord, 
where  Dr.  Hayes  wintered  in  18G0  and  '61,  in  the  schooner 
United  States.  Just  beyond  is  Cape  Ohlsen,  marking  the 
burial-place  of  one  of  Kane's  men,  for  whom  it  was  named. 
Making  inwards  from  the  Cape,  the  indentation  of  the  shore 
forms  Lifeboat  Cove,  the  second  winter  quarters  of  the 
Polaris.,  and  at  its  entrance,  separated  only  by  a  strait  half  a 
mile  wide,  is  Littleton  Island.  A  few  miles  further  north, 
at  Cairn  Point,  the  shore  turns  to  the  eastwai'd,  and  Smith 
Sound  opens  into  the  wide  expanse  of  Kane  Sea. 

The  opposite  side  of  the  Sound  on  the  const  of  Ellesmere 
Land  is  a  dreary  wilderness,  never  visited  by  the  Esldino, 


!l| 


(I  i: 


^>..' 


The  Gateway  of  tlte  Polar  Sea. 


9 


and  only  rarely  by  the  bears  and  Arctic  foxes.  North  of 
Cape  Isabella,  where  Nares  made  a  small  cache,  is  a  deep 
estuary  called  Baird  Inlet.  The  northern  point  of  the  sound 
on  this  side  is  marked  by  Cape  Sabine,  on  the  extremity  of 
what  was  supposed  to  be  a  peninsula,  but  which  one  of 
Greely's  men  discovered  to  be  an  island.  Just  south  of  the 
cape  is  Payer  Harbor,  lying  between  the  shore  and  Brevoort 
Island.  Stalkneciit  Island,  a  low  and  narrow  strip  of  rock, 
lying  to  the  west  of  Brevoort  Island,  was  the  j)lace  of  Nares' 
third  depot.  Around  the  cape,  on  the  northern  shore,  about 
four  miles  from  the  point,  is  a  little  cove.  It  is  around  this 
cove  and  the  hill  above  it,  that  the  interest  of  the  present 
narrative  centres  ;  for  it  was  here  that  the  stores  were  land- 
ed from  the  wreck  of  the  Proteus^  and  here  that  Greely 
made  his  final  camp,  October  21,  18S3. 

Beyond  Smith  Sound  the  Greenland  shore  trends  away 
one  hundred  miles  or  more  to  the  eastward,  forming  Kane 
Sea,  whose  shores  were  first  outlined  by  Dr.  Kane  and  his 
party  of  the  second  Grinncll  expedition,  during  the  two  des- 
olate years  passed  at  Kensselaer  Bay.  The  sea  forms  a  large 
oval  basin,  covered  most  of  the  time  by  a  nearly  impenetra- 
ble polar  pack.  Only  four  vessels  have  succeeded  in  crossing 
it, — the  Polaris,  the  Alert  and  Discovery,  and  the  Proteus 
on  her  wonderful  voyage  with  Greely  in  1881.  On  the 
western  side  of  the  baibin  the  most  prominent  point  is  Cape 
Hawks,  so  often  referred  to  in  the  plans  for  the  relief  expe- 
ditions, where  a  small  cache  had  been  made  by  Nares.  Ilis 
fifth  and  last  depot  was  at  Cape  Collinson,  fifty  miles  to  the 
north. 

North  of  Kaio  Sea,  the  shores  again  converging,  form 
Kennedy  and  Robeson  Channels,  the  long,  narrow  strait  lead- 


J 


*l 


\  ■ 


{<!  i!i 


'i; 


\    > 


10 


The  liescme  of  Greely. 


iiig  directly  to  the  Polar  Ocean,  and  separating  Greenland 
froni  Grinnell  Land.  A  little  more  than  half  way  up  is 
Lady  Franklin  Bay,  wiiore  Greely  fixed  his  station,  and 
where  he  passed  two  years  with  his  command.  The  site  of 
the  station  was  Discovery  Harbor,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Bay,  where  the  Discovery  had  wintered  in  1875-76.  Above 
this  point,  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  itself,  the  Alert  had  pass- 
ed the  same  winter,  and  a  few  miles  away,  at  Thank  God 
Harbor,  the  Polaris^  under  Hall,  had  mado  her  station  four 
years  before.  But  these  were  all.  Before  these  expeditions 
no  one  had  entered  the  long,  narrow  passage,  and  since  then, 
those  who  have  attempted  the  journey  have  failed  even  to 
get  beyond  the  ice-pack  in  Kane  Sea. 


(It 


»k. 


i^ 


CHAPTER  n. 


THE  CIRCUMPOLAR  STATIONS. 


Of  those  whose  names  \\z  ^  e  been  added  during  the  last 
century  to  the  roll  of  Arctic  explorers  and  investigators, 
there  are  few  to  whom  science  must  acknowledge  a  greater 
debt  than  to  Karl  Weyprecht.  As  the  commander  of  the 
Tegetthqf,  in  the  Austro-Hungarian  expedition  of  1872,  he 
discovered  and  named  Franz  Josef  Land.  But  his  most  im- 
portant service  consists  in  having  first  drawn  up  in  a  definite 
shape,  and  pushed  to  successful  execution,  the  project  of  es- 
tablishing a  series  of  co-operating  stations  in  the  higher  lati- 
tudes to  make  simultaneous  observations  for  a  considerable 
time. 

It  was  on  the  18th  of  September,  1875,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  association  of  German  naturalists  and  physicists  at  Gratz, 
that  Lieutenant  Weyprecht  first  unfolded  his  plan.  He 
pointed  out  that  while  the  polar  regions  offered  one  of  the 
most  important  fields  for  the  investigation  of  natural  phe- 
nomena, esi)ecially  in  reference  to  the  physical  condition  of 
the  earth,  the  costly  expeditions  that  had  gone  there  had 
done  little  more  for  physical  research  than  to  show  what  a 
wealth  of  imtouched  materials  lay  within  the  grasp  of  the  in- 
telligent  and  systematic  inquirer.  He  therefore  proposed  to 
leave  the  beaten  track  of  Arctic  exploration,  and  subordinate 
geographical  discovery  entirely  to  physical  observation.  As 
previous  investigations  had   been   largely  ineffective  from 

(11) 


Ml   ' 


\l 


I 
ill 


f 


i' 


12 


T/ic  Rescue  of  Greely. 


their  isolated  character,  his  plan  was  to  send  a  number  of  ex- 
peditions to  remain  for  some  time,  and  make  contempora- 
neous observations,  according  to  a  pre9       ,  ^  i  programme. 

Although  these  views  may  liave  been  held  more  or  less  by 
scientific  men  in  advance  of  Wcyprecht,  to  him  alone 
belongs  the  credit  of  having  drawn  up  a  definite  plan  of 
action,  and  of  securing  its  adoption.  No  single  state  could 
be  expected  to  furnish  either  the  means  or  the  personnel  for 
so  many  expeditions,  and  it  was  decided  from  the  start  to 
put  the  scheme  on  an  international  footing.  A  beginning 
was  to  be  made  by  Austria-Hungary,  but  it  was  as  a  private 
enterprise,  the  expenses  being  borne  by  Weyprecht's  friend, 
Count  Wilczek,  who  had  taken  a  lively  interest  in  his  pro- 
ject. These  two  prepared  a  pi*ogramme  of  operations,  which 
was  submitted  to  the  meteorological  congress  held  at  Rome 
in  1879.  The  congress  received  it  favorably  and  recom- 
mended its  adoption,  but  as  the  delegates  had  no  authority  to 
act,  the  international  meteorological  committee  was  instruct- 
ed to  summon  a  special  conference  later  to  consider  it. 

The  first  International  Polar  Conference  met  at  Hamburg, 
October  1,  1879,  with  delegates  from  Austria-Hungary, 
Denmark,  France,  Germany,  the  Netherlands,  Norway,  Rus- 
sia, and  Sweden.  It  organized  as  a  permanent  commission 
and  decided  that  at  least  eight  stations  would  be  necessary  to 
make  the  plan  a  success.  The  twelve  months  of  observation 
were  to  be  comprised  between  the  autumn  of  1881  and  that 
of  1882.  Dr.  Neumayer,  of  Hamburg,  was  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  committee,  but  was  afterward  succeeded  by  Pro- 
fessor Wild,  of  St.  Petersburg. 

Active  efforts  were  now  made  by  the  commission  and  its 
members  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  a  suflScient  number  of 


III 


The  Circiimpolar  Stations. 


13 


Governments,  and  a  second  Conference  met  at  Bern  in  the 
following  summer.  The  reports  were  encouraging,  but  not 
enough  so  to  carry  out  the  undertaking  at  the  proposed  time. 
Four  States  had  agreed  to  take  part— Austria-Hungary,  Den- 
mark, Norway,  and  Kussia.  The  Austrian  station,  still  as  a 
private  undertaking,  was  to  be  fixed  at  Jan  Mayen  Island,  off 
the  east  coast  of  Grreenland,  and  was  to  be  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  von  "Wohlgemuth,  of  the  Austrian  navy. 
Denmark  was  to  select  Upernivik  or  Godthaab;  Norway 
named  Bossekop,  near  Alten ;  and  Russia  the  Lena  Delta. 
This  was  all  that  had  been  done,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
work  was  postponed  for  a  year,  or  until  the  summer  of  1882. 

Early  efforts  had  been  made  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the 
United  States.  Already  in  May,  1879,  Weyprecht  had  writ- 
ten to  General  Myer,  at  that  time  the  Chief  Signal  Officer 
of  the  army,  urging  that  the  Government  should  join  in  his 
new  scheme  of  Arctic  research,  which  was  to  be  devoted  to 
the  investigation  of  magnetic  and  meteorological  phenomena. 
He  suggested  that  in  completing  the  circle  of  circumpolar  ob- 
serving stations  the  United  States  should  establish  their  post 
at  Point  Barrow,  on  the  coast  of  Alaska,  northeaat  of  Beh- 
ring  Strait,  where  the  English  ship  Plover  had  wintered  in 
1852  and  1853. 

As  the  work  was  partly  meteorological  in  character,  it 
would  naturally  fall  under  the  cognizance  of  the  Weather 
Bureau,  directed  by  the  Chief  Signal  Ollicer  of  the  army. 
The  plan  commended  itself  strongly  to  G'ii^eral  Myer,  and  as 
it  required  no  special  legislation  for  the  Office  to  estabhsh  a 
signal  station  anywhere  w< thin  the  limits  of  the  United  States, 
steps  were  taken  in  the  course  of  the  year  to  carry  it  out. 
Lieutenant  Ray  was  ordered  to  command  the  expeditioujwhich 


! 


II 


14 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


I 


left  San  Francisco  July  18,  1881,  in  the  schooner  Golden 
Fleece,  and  arrived  September  8th  at  the  point  where  the 
station  was  finally  established,  a  few  miles  from  Point  Bar- 
row. After  landing  the  party  and  stores  the  vessel  returned 
to  the  United  States.  The  dwelling-house  and  the  observa- 
tories were  at  once  put  up,  and  by  October  the  work  was 
fairly  in  progress.  It  was  steadily  kept  up  until  the  end ; 
the  series  of  hourly  magnetic  and  meteorological  observations 
being  continued  without  interruption  until  the  final  abandon- 
ment of  the  station.  Other  valuable  observations  were  taken, 
and  exploring  expeditions  were  sent  into  the  interior.  On 
the  arrival  of  the  relief  vessel  the  records  and  instruments 
with  the  scientific  collections  were  put  on  board  and  the  ex- 
pedition embarked  August  29,  18?3,  arriving  safely  at  San 
Francisco  in  October.  The  work  had  been  admirably  done, 
and  the  results  were  accomplished  without  a  mishap. 

Meanwhile  a  plan  ox  different  scope,  but  with  some  fea- 
tures in  common  with  the  other,  had  been  conceived  by 
Lieutenant  Howgate,  an  army  officer  attached  to  the  Signal 
Service,  and  had  been  actively  urged  by  him  for  several 
years.  It  was  known  as  the  scheme  of  Polar  Colonization, 
and  everybody  was  familiar  with  it  under  that  name.  The 
plan  consisted  in  establishing  a  colony  at  some  suitable  point 
as  far  north  as  possible,  where  it  should  remain  for  three 
years ;  it  being  thought  that  during  that  time  some  occasion 
would  arise  presenting  favorable  conditions  for  reaching  the 
North  Pole.  The  failure  of  the  Nares  expedition  to  accom- 
plish this  object  in  1875-Y6  was  partly  attributed  to  the  cold 
season  and  exceptional  winds  prevailing  during  that  year 
which  formed  ice  ridges  across  the  line  of  march  and  so  ren- 
dered progress  slow  and  difiicult.     The  place  selected  as  the 


i   :■ 


The  Clroumj^olar  Stations. 


15 


Bite  of  the  proposed  colony  was  Discovery  Harbor,  on  the 
shore  of  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  where  the  Discovery  had  win- 
tered in  18T5-7G.  It  was  chosen  because  of  its  advanced  po- 
sition in  an  important  region  and  its  vicinity  to  a  coal-seam. 
During  its  three  years'  residence  the  colony  would  be  able  to 
choose  a  favorable  time  for  effecting  its  primary  object,  the 
journey  to  the  Pole.  Besides  this  it  would  carry  on  a  series 
of  meteorological  observations. 

As  a  result  of  Howgate's  efforts,  Congress  passed  the  Act 
of  May  1,  1880,  authorizing  the  President  to  establish  a  sta- 
tion at  or  near  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  and  to  accept  the  Gul- 
nare^  a  vessel  owned  by  Howgate,  for  the  use  of  the  expedi- 
tion. First  Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely,  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry, 
was  assigned  to  the  command,  and  Doctor  Octave  Pavy  was 
engaged  as  surgeon.  The  Gulnare  was  not  accepted  by  the 
Government,  and  Greely  never  went  on  the  expedition. 
The  vessel,  however,  started  on  her  voyage  and  proceeded  as 
fiu*  as  Disko,  but,  proving  entirely  unfit  to  continue  the  jour- 
ney, she  returned  in  the  autumn  disabled,  and  the  whole  af- 
fair was  in  consequence  a  failure. 

In  September,  1880,  Dr.  Wild,  the  President  of  the  Inter- 
national Polar  Commission,  in  announcing  to  General  Myer 
the  progress  of  its  work,  stated  that  only  two  stations  were 
needed  to  complete  the  circle,  Point  Barrow  and  some  point 
in  the  North  American  archipelago.  In  -^aew  of  this,  al- 
though there  was  no  necessary  connection  between  the  orig- 
inal "Howgate  Plan"  and  Weyprecht's  proposed  circum- 
polar  system,  it  was  natural  that  the  two  should  have  been 
blended  by  the  Signal  OflSce,  as  they  had  been  already  con- 
nected in  the  Report  of  the  House  Committee  recommend- 
ing the  passage  of  the  bill  in  the  previous  May ;  and  so  it 


16 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


happened  that  after  the  failure  and  disappearance  of  the  first 
project  in  the  fall  of  1880,  it  reappeared  in  the  winter  clothed 
with  the  mantle  of  Weyprecht,  and  received  an  appropriation 
of  $25,000  in  the  Sundry  Civil  Act  of  March  3,  1881.  This 
was  stated  to  be  "  for  continuing  the  work  of  scientific  ob- 
servation and  exploration  on  or  near  the  shores  of  Lady 
Franklin  Bay,"  which,  however,  could  as  yet  hardly  be  said 
to  have  begun.  In  this  manner  was  assured  the  second  ob- 
serving-post  of  the  United  States  in  the  circle  which  the 
International  Polar  Commission  was  seeking  to  establish.  If 
it  had  not  been  for  the  adoption  of  the  Howgate  plan  the 
year  before,  authority  would  probably  never  have  been  ob- 
tained for  a  second  station  ;  but  the  most  unfortunate  result 
of  the  combination  of  the  two  distinct  projects  was  the 
necessity  of  taking  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  specified  in  the  Act 
of  1880,  as  the  site.  It  had  been  one  of  Weyprecht's  ideas 
that  each  circumpolar  station  should  be  fixed  at  an  accessible 
point,  which  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  as  the  result  showed,  cer- 
tainly was  not ;  and  while  no  place  could  have  been  better 
adapted  to  servo  as  a  base  for  an  expedition  to  the  Pole, 
which  Howgate  contemplated,  it  did  not  offer  any  marked 
advantages  for  making  scientific  observations,  which  alone 
was  th(3  purpose  of  Weyprecht. 

The  third  International  Poiar  Conference  met  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, August  1,  1881.  Already  in  the  May  preceding, 
the  required  number  of  stations  had  been  secured,  and  l)y 
August  the  pro])arations  for  most  of  them  had  been  under- 
taken. Others  were  subsequently  added,  until  they  reached 
a  total  of  fourteen,  as  follows  : 

AiiHtriii-IIungary,  nt  Tan  Miiyon  iHland. 
Doiunark,  at  Oodthaab,  in  OrccMilund, 
Finland,  at  Sudaukylu. 


The  Circumpolar  Stations. 


ir 


France,  at  Cape  Horn. 

Germany,  at  Cumberland  Sound  and  the  South  Gcorj^ian  Islands. 

Great  Britain  and  Canada,  at  Fort  Kae,  on  Ihe  Great  Slave  Lake. 

Netherlands,  at  Diekson  Haven,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Yenesei  River. 

Norway,  at  Bossekop. 

Russia,  at  the  Lena  Delta  hiA  Nova  Zcmbla. 

Sweden,  at  Spilzbergen. 

United  States,  at  Point  Barrow  and  Lady  Fianklin  Bay. 

An  elaborate  programme  of  scientific  work  had  been  care- 
fully drawn  up,  which  was  to  be  followed  at  all  the  stations. 
The  obligatory  programme  included  meteorological,  magnetic, 
and  auroral  observations  to  be  made  hourly  during  the  whole 
period  ;  and  on  certain  fixed  days,  the  Ist  and  15th  of  the 
month,  the  magnetic  observations  v/ero  to  bo  made  every 
twenty  seconds,  during  a  stated  hour,  at  Gottingen  time,  at 
all  the  stations.  Besides  the  required  work,  suggestions  were 
made  as  to  optional  observations,  including  the  investigation 
of  solar  radiation,  evaporation,  earth  currents,  atmospheric 
electricity,  ice,  tides,  and,  in  fact,  nearly  all  the  natural  phe- 
nomena peculiar  to  the  region.  The  principal  observatories 
in  the  temperate  zones  were  to  co-operate  with  the  work, 
and  all  the  observations,  with  the  necessary  reductions  an<l 
calculations,  were  ultimately  to  be  published. 

It  will  bo  seen  from  this  on  what  a  complete  and  far- 
reach  iiig  scale  the  entorpriso  was  conceived  and  undertaken. 
For  tlie  most  part  it  luis  been  successfully  carried  out,  and  it 
is  needless  to  say  that  its  results  will  be  of  immense  value  in 
the  solution  of  ])liysical  j)roblems.  A  great  deal  of  careful 
and  thorough  exploration  over  limited  areas  has  also  been 
accom[)liHluMl.  AVeyprecht  died  before  the  stations  were  act- 
ually ostablisluMl,  Imt  ho  lived  long  enough  to  sec  the  ultimate 
success  of  Ills  project  aj^sured. 


ii  I 


il 


I  III 


18 


T}i£  Rescue  of  Greely. 


Altliougli  the  United  States  had  not  been  one  of  the  first 
Governments  to  agree  to  the  plan,  our  two  expeditions  wore 
the  earliest  on  the  ground,  being  in  fact  a  wliolc  year  in 
advance.  The  others  got  off  at  different  times  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1882.  Most  of  them  were  in  time  to  begin  work 
early  in  the  fall,  so  that  the  proposed  twelve  months  of  ob- 
servations of  the  Commission  extended  nearly  from  Septem- 
ber 1,  1882,  to  September  1,  1883.  The  French  expedition 
to  Cape  Horn  and  the  Russian  party  at  the  Lena  Delta  were 
a  little  belated,  though  only  by  a  few  weeks.  In  consequence 
of  this,  the  indefatigable  committee  issued  a  circular  in  Feb- 
ruai-y,  1883,  asking  for  a  continuation  of  the  stations  for  a 
second  year,  but  the  proposal  was  not  responded  to  with  en- 
thusiasm, tlic  difficulties  in  the  way  of  acceding  to  it  being 
too  great,  and  the  efforts  required  to  start  the  expeditions  in 
the  first  place  having  pretty  nearly  exliausted  the  persever- 
ance of  the  projectors.  In  fact,  as  far  as  the  United  States 
expeditions  were  concerned,  the  Act  of  Congress  making 
np])r()j)riations  for  their  support,  passed  in  March  of  that  year, 
ex])re8sly  required  that  they  should  return.  The  stations  at 
Sodankyl.i  and  at  the  Lena  Delta  were,  however,  kept  up 
until  1884.  The  other  exj^oditions  left  their  posts  in  the 
summer  or  fall  of  1883,  and  returned  homo  safely,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  unf'ortiinite  i)arty  at  liady  Franklin 
V^^y.  The  only  one  which  had  met  with  a  mishap  was  that 
of  Holland,  which  could  not  reach  Dickson  Ilavcn,  the  in- 
tended place  of  wintering,  the  slii])  Vanua  which  carried  the 
party  having  been  beset  in  Sei)t(>ml)er,  1S82,  in  the  ice-pack 
in  Kara  Sea.  The  observations  were,  therefore,  imperfect. 
The  shij),  after  being  roughly  handled  by  the  ice,  was  finally 
disabled,  and  sank  in  ,Inly.     The  members  of  the  expedition 


The  Cinyumpolar  SiatlmxH. 


19 


were  saved,  and  the  scientific  collections  were  brought  back 
by  tlie  Dijmphna,  which  had  wintered  near  by  in  the  ice. 

In  the  spring  of  1884  the  fourth  and  final  International 
Polar  Conference  met  at  Vienna.  It  was  a  remarkable 
meeting.  The  great  project  had  been  carried  out,  the  work 
had  been  performed  and  reported,  and  it  only  remained  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  final  reduction  and  publication 
of  the  immense  mass  of  scientific  data.  The  members  had 
much  upon  which  to  congratulate  themselves  and  each  otiier. 
At  the  assembling  of  the  Conference,  there  were  present  not 
only  the  members  of  the  Polar  Commission,  tlirough  whoso 
efforts  the  work  hatl  been  set  on  foot,  but  many  of  tlnjse 
who  had  actually  commanded  the  expeditions,  and  wlio  had 
brouglit  tlieir  parties  safely  home  from  the  stations  around 
the  poles,  with  the  results  of  a  year  of  fruitful  labor.  Among 
these  were  Captain  Dawson,  from  Fort  Rae ;  Eckholni,  from 
Spitzbergon  ;  (liese,  from  Cumberland  Sound  ;  Paycn,  from 
Cape  Horn;  P.lulson,  from  (Jodtliaab;  Kay,  from  Point 
Parrow ;  Snellen,  from  Dickson  Haven ;  Stecn,  from  Bosse- 
kop ;  and  Wilczek  and  Wohlgenmtli,  from  Jan  Mayen. 
After  a  week  of  friendly  intercourse  and  discussion,  the  Con- 
ference adjourned  on  the  21rth  of  April,  its  last  act  l)eing  the 
adoption  of  a  resolution,  proposed  by  Dr.  Neumayer,  of 
Hamburg,  expressing  "its  warm  and  genuine  sympathy  for 
the  misfortune  of  Ca])tain  Greely  and  his  ])arty,  and  the 
most  earnest  hope  for  the  happy  return  home  of  the  second 
American  Expedition."  At  the  moment  when  Greely's 
co-laborers  were  uttering  their  kindly  words  of  sympathy  at 
Vienna,  ho  and  his  command  were  wasting  away  at  ('ape 
Siibine,  on  the  edge  of  the  Arctic  wilderness,  with  little 
])roHpect  of  escape  from  starvation  and  death. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE    LADY   FRANKLIN  BAY  EXPEDITION. 


I     li 


[Jndeterred  by  the  failure  of  tlie  previous  summer,  the 
Signal  Office,  in  the  winter  of  1880-81,  entered  boldly  upon 
its  preparations  for  a  new  expedition  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay. 
The  Act  of  1880  gave  general  authority  for  the  enterprise, 
and  in  the  following  March  the  appropriation  was  made  to 
carry  it  out.  General  Ilazen,  who  had  succeeded  General 
Myer  as  Chief  Signal  Officer,  had  the  general  direction  of 
the  expedition,  and  Lieutenant  Grecly  was  again  selected 
for  the  command,  being  formally  assigned  to  the  duty  on 
March  11th.  Complete  preparations  were  made,  stores  for 
three  years  were  procured  and  shipped,  and  the  steam- 
sealer  Proteus,  of  St.  John's,  was  chartered  to  take  the  ex- 
pedition to  its  destination.  The  Proteus  was  an  excellent 
vessel,  of  019  tons  (gross),  built  at  Dundee  in  1874.  She 
was  built  of  oak,  witli  a  sheathing  of  ironwood  from  above 
the  water-line  to  below  the  turn  of  the  bilge,  and  her  prow 
was  armed  vith  iron.  Iler  speed  was  8^  knots.  Captain 
Kichard  Pike,  who  commanded  lior,  had  had  considerable 
experience  in  ice-navigiition,  having  made  several  sealing 
trips  to  the  coast  of  Labrador. 

The  following  officers  and  enlisted  men  com})osed  the 
force : 

First  LieuUiimnt  A.  W.  Om-ly,  ntli  Civvalry,  Aotin;?  Siffiial  Ofllcer. 
Socond  Lioufcimnt  Frederick  V.  Kislinfi;l)iiry,  1  Ith  Infantry. 
Second  Liciitoniuit  .Tantes  IJ.  riOcUwood,  2i>d  Infantry. 
(30) 


The  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition.  21 

Acting- Assistant  Surgeon  Octave  Pavy. 
Sergeant  Edward  Israel,  Signal  Corps. 
'«         Winfleld  S.  Jewell,  Signal  Corps. 
«'         George  "W.  Rice,  Signal  Corps. 
««         David  C.  Ralston,  Signal  Corps. 
*•         Hampden  S.  Gardiner,  Signal  Corps. 
»*         William  H.  Cross,  General  Service. 
"         David  L.  Brainard,  2d  Cavalry. 
"         David  Linn,  2d  Cavalry. 
Corporal  Nicholas  Salor,  2d  Cavalry. 

"        Joseph  Elison,  10th  Infantry. 
Private  Charles  B.  Henry,  oth  Cavalry. 
"        Maurice  Connell,  3d  Cavalry. 
"        Jacob  Bender,  9th  Infantry. 
"        Francis  Long,  Oth  Infantry. 
"        William  Whisler,  9th  Infantry. 
"        Henry  Bierdcrl)ick,  17th  Infantry. 
"       Julius  Fredericks,  2d  Cavalry. 
William  A.  Ellis,  2d  Cavalry. 
"       R.  R.  Schneider,  1st  Artillery. 

Two  Eskimo  were  added  at  Upernivik, 

Jens  Edward,  and 

Frederick  Thorley  Christiansen, 

making  a  total  of  twenty-five  persons. 

Two  other  enlisted  men  went  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay  as 
members  of  the  expedition,  but  returned  with  the  vessel. 

On  Juno  lYth,  the  following  instructions  were  issued  to 
Lieutenant  Greely  by  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  : 


The  'permanent  station  will  bo  established  at  the  most  suitable  point 
north  of  the  eighty-flrat  parallel  and  contiguous  to  the  coal-seam  discov- 
ered near  Lady  Franklin  Bay  by  the  English  expedition  of  1875. 

After  leaving  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  except  to  obtain  Eskimo 
Innilcrs,  dogs,  clolhing,  etc.,  at  Disko  or  UiMTiiivik,  only  such  stops  will 
be  made  as  the  condition  of  tlu^  ice  necesHitiilcs.  or  as  are  esscntiid  in 
ord<'r  to  di'tennine  the  exact  location  and  condition  of  the  Hlorcs  t^achcd 
on  the  east  coast  of  Orinnell  Laud  by  the  English  expedition  of  1875. 


;. 


22 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


.     .1: 


I'i 


During  any  enforced  delays  along  that  coast  it  would  be  well  to  supple- 
ment the  English  depots  by  such  small  caches  from  the  steamer's  stores 
of  provisions  as  would  be  valuable  to  a  party  retreating  southward  by 
boats  from  Robeson's  Channel.  At  each  point  where  an  old  depot  is 
examined  or  a  new  one  established,  three  brief  notices  will  be  left  of  the 
visit :  one  to  be  deposited  in  the  cairn  built  or  found  standing,  one  to  be 
placed  on  the  north  side  of  it,  and  one  to  be  buried  twenty  feet  north 
(magnetic)  of  the  cairn.  Notices  discovered  in  cairns  will  be  brought 
away,  replacing  liiem,  however,  by  copies. 

The  steamer  should,  on  arrival  at  permanent  station,  discharge  her 
cargo  with  the  utmost  dispatch,  and  be  ordered  to  return  to  St.  John's, 
N.  F.,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  seam  of  coal  at  that  point  has 
been  made  by  the  party  to  determine  whether  an  ample  supply  is  easily 
procurable.  A  report  in  writing  on  this  subject  will  be  sent  by  the  re- 
turning vessel.  In  case  of  doubt  an  ample  supply  must  be  retained  from 
the  steamer's  stores. 

By  the  returning  steamer  will  be  sent  a  brief  report  of  proceedings 
and  as  full  a  transcript  as  possible  of  all  meteorological  and  other  obser- 
vations made  during  the  voyage. 

After  the  departure  of  the  vessel  the  energies  of  the  party  should  first 
be  devoted  to  the  erection  of  the  dwelling-house  and  observatories,  after 
w*hich  a  sledge  party  will  be  sent,  according  to  the  proposal  made  to  the 
Navy  Department,  to  the  high  land  near  Cape  Joseph  Henry, 

The  sledging  parties  will  generally  work  in  the  interests  of  explora- 
tion and  discovery.  The  work  to  be  Jone  by  them  should  be  marked  by 
all  possible  care  and  fidelity.  The  outlines  of  coasts  entered  on  charts 
will  be  such  only  as  have  actually  been  seen  by  the  party.  Every 
favorable  opportunity  will  be  improved  by  the  sledging  parties  to  de- 
termine accurately  the  geographical  positions  of  all  their  camps,  and  to 
obtain  the  bearing  therefrom  of  all  distant  cliffs,  mountains,  islands,  etc. 

Careful  attention  will  be  given  to  the  collection  of  specimens  of  the 
animal,  mineral,  and  vegetable  kingdoms.  Such  coUections  will  be  made 
as  complete  as  possible  ;  will  be  considered  the  property  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  and  are  to  be  at  its  disposal. 

Special  instructions  regarding  the  meteorological,  magnetic,  tidal,  pen- 
dulum, and  other  observations,  as  recommended  by  the  Hamburg  Inter- 
national Polar  Conference,  are  transmitted  herewith. 

It  is  conteinplattHl  that  the  permanent  station  .^liall  be  visited  in  1882 
and  1883  by  a  sleam  sealer  or  other  vessel,  by  which  supplies  for  and 
such  additions  to  the  prescuit  party  as  are  deemed  needful  will  be  sent. 

lu  case  such  vessel  is  unable  to  reach  Lady  Franklin  Bay  iu  1883,  she 


I  '  M:l  1 


The  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition. 


23 


will  cache  a  portion  of  her  supplies  and  all  of  her  letters  and  dispatches 
at  the  most  northerly  point  she  attains  on  the  ea%t  coast  of  Orinnell  Land, 
and  establish  a  small  depot  of  supplies  at  Littleton  Island.  Notices  of 
the  locality  of  such  depots  will  be  left  at  one  or  all  of  the  following 
places,  viz.  :  Cape  Hawks,  Cape  Sabine,  and  Cape  Isabella. 

In  case  no  vessel  reaches  the  permanent  station  in  1883,  the  vessel  sent 
in  1883  will  remain  in  Smith  Sound  until  there  is  danger  of  its  closing  by 
ice,  and,  on  leaving,  will  land  all  her  supplies  and  a  party  at  Littleton 
Island,  which  party  will  be  prepared  for  a  winter's  stay,  and  will  be  in- 
structed to  send  sledge  parties  up  the  cast  side  of  Orinnell  Land  to  meet 
this  party.  If  not  visited  in  1882,  Lieutenant  Groely  will  abandon  his 
station  not  later  than  September  1,  1883,  and  will  retreat  southward  by 
boat,  following  closely  the  east  coast  of  Orinnell  Land,  until  the  relieving 
vessel  is  met  or  Littleton  Island  is  reached. 

A  special  copy  of  all  reports  will  be  made  each  day,  which  will  be  sent 
home  each  year  by  the  returning  vessel. 

The  full  narrative  of  the  several  branches  will  bo  prepared  with  accu- 
racy, leaving  the  least  possible  amount  of  work  afterward  to  prepare  them 
for  publication. 

The  greatest  caution  will  be  taken  at  the  station  against  fire,  and  daily 
inspections  made  of  every  spot  where  fire  can  communicate. 

In  case  of  any  fatal  accident  or  permanent  disability  happening  to  Lieu- 
tenant Grcely,  the  command  will  devolve  on  the  officer  next  in  seniority, 
who  will  be  governed  by  these  instructions. 

W.   B.   IlAZEN, 

Brig,  and  But.  Major-OeneraJ,  Chief  Signal  Officer,  U.  9.  A. 

A  few  important  points  are  to  be  noted  in  these  instruc- 
tions. The  work  of  the  expedition  was  to  be — first,  explora- 
tion ;  secondly,  the  collection  of  specimens ;  and  third  and 
lust,  the  observations  called  for  by  the  International  Polar 
Conference. 

On  the  way  up  the  only  points  to  be  visited  after  leaving 
the  Danish  settlements  were  the  caches  or  depots  of  provi- 
sions made  by  the  English  expedition  under  Ca])tain  Kares 
in  1875.  The  importance  of  these  caches  lay  in  the  fact  that 
in  case  of  the  abandonment  of  the  station  from  any  cause  they 
furnished  a  continuous  series  of  supply  depots  at  intervals 


i 


\ 


I' 


24 


The  JRescnie  of  Greely. 


It 


along  the  line  of  retreat  between  Lady  Franklin  Bay  and 
Cape  York.  Precautions  had  been  taken  to  secure  from  the 
Admiralty,  through  the  State  Department,  an  authoritative 
list  of  these  depots.  Their  position  and  the  amount  cached 
at  each  became  subsequently  a  matter  of  vital  importance. 
Beginning  with  the  most  northerly,  they  were — 

Cape  CoUinson,  240  rations. 

Cape  Hawks,  a  quantity  of  bread  (amount  not  exactly  known),  pota- 
toes, rum,  and  stearine. 
Cape  Sabine  (Payer  Harbor),  240  rations. 
Cape  Isabella,  150  pounds  of  meat. 
Cary  Islands,  1,800  rations. 

The  instructions  contemplated  a  stay  of  two  years  at  Lady 
Frankhn  Bay,  and  stated  that  a  vessel  would  be  dispatched 
to  the  station  both  in  1882  and  1883.  These  vessels  were  to 
bring  "  supplies  for  and  such  additions  to  the  present  party 
as  are  deemed  needful."  If  the  vessel  of  1882  failed  to 
reach  the  station,  she  was  to  cache  a  portion  of  her  suppUes 
at  the  most  northerly  point  reached  on  the  coast  of  Grinnell 
Land,  and  to  make  a  small  depot  at  Littleton  Island.  If  the 
vessel  of  1883  also  failed  to  get  up,  she  was  to  remain  in 
Smith  Sound  as  long  as  was  safe,  and,  on  leaving,  to  land  all 
her  supplies  and  a  relief  party  at  Littleton  Island  for  the  win- 
ter. Finally,  if  neither  vessel  reached  the  station,  Lieutenant 
Greely  was  ordered  to  abandon  it  not  later  than  September 
1,  1883,  and  retreat  southward  by  boat,  until  the  relief  ves- 
sel of  1883  was  met  or  Littleton  Island  was  reached,  where 
he  would  find  a  fresh  party  with  stores  awaiting  him. 

The  party  after  arriving  at  St.  John's  embarked  on  board 
the  Proteus^  and,  on  the  7th  of  July,  Greely  with  liis  com- 
mand left  that  port  for  Lady  Franklin  Bay.    This  was  the 


iS^li^lll! 


The  Lady  FranTdm  Bay  Expedition. 

opening  act  of  the  drama — ii  drama  marked  by  varied  inci- 
dent, bv  perilous  undertakings,  by  successful  acbievements, 
and  by  unsurpassed  sufferings ;  a  drama  wbicli  was  to  last 
three  years,  and  to  arouse  the  deepest  interest  and  sympathy 
in  Europe  and  America,  until  the  rescue  was  accomplished 
and  the  few  survivors  were  at  last  brought  home. 

The  voyage  to  Godhavn,  the  first  stopping  place,  was  un- 
eventful ;  there  were  continuous  northerly  winds,  with  thick 
weather.  On  the  fifth  day  out  pack  ice  was  encountered,  but 
it  was  not  extensive  or  compact,  and  did  not  delay  the  vessel. 
Godhavn  was  reached  on  the  16th. 

Here  everything  was  favorable.  The  winter  had  been  un- 
usually mild,  and  was  followed  by  an  early  spring,  so  that 
the  ice  to  the  northward  had  broken  up  some  time  before. 
For  fourteen  years,  it  was  reported,  Upernivik  had  never 
been  so  green.  Doctor  Pavy,  the  surgeon  of  the  Howgate 
expedition,  who  had  stayed  behind  the  year  before  at  Disko, 
joined  the  party,  and  the  dogs  and  other  supplies  which  he 
had  secured  were  taken  on  board,  together  with  the  remains 
of  the  house  and  the  stores  which  had  been  brought  up  in. 
the  Gidnare.  Other  supplies  were  obtained  at  Rittenbenk, 
whither  the  Proteus  sailed  on  the  21st.  On  the  22d  she 
left  Rittenbenk,  and  passing  through  the  Waigat,  arrived  on 
the  23d  at  Upernivik.  Upernivik  was  the  last  point  in  reg- 
ular communication  with  the  world  of  Europe  and  America 
at  which  the  expedition  would  touch  before  taking  its  fmal 
plunge  for  two  years  into  the  great  unknown.  Six  days 
were  spent  here  in  making  the  closing  ]irei)arations.  Lieu- 
tenant Lockwood  took  the  steam  launch  to  Proven,  forty 
miles  away,  and  brought  back  tlie  two  Eskimo,  who  iiiiide 
the  last  accessions  to  the  party,  while  Lieutenant  Kislingbury 


I 


!; 


I! 


V  ! 


I 


'in 


111 


26 


7%«  Hesctce  of  Greely. 


succeeded  in  getting  four  hundred  guillemots  at  the  loomery 
near  Sanderson's  Hope.  More  dogs  were  bought,  and  skin 
clothing,  sledge  fittings,  dog  harness,  and  other  supplies  were 
taken  on  board  the  vessel. 

Leaving  TJpernivik  on  the  afternoon  of  July  29th,  the  Pro- 
teus started  on  the  uncertain  passage  across  Melville  Bay. 
Here  everything  depended  on  the  treacherous  ice-pack, 
which  might  delay  the  vessel  for  days.  In  1875,  it  is  true, 
the  expedition  under  Nares  had  crossed  to  within  forty-five 
miles  of  Cape  York  in  sixty-five  hours,  but  everybody  consid- 
ered this  passage  as  most  remarkable.  The  Proteus  taking 
the  Middle  Passage,  advanced  steadily  without  check  or  ob- 
stacle until  7  A.M.  of  the  Slst,  when  the  engines  were 
stopped  in  a  thick  fog.  The  dead  reckoning  placed  the  land 
about  six  miles  off.  An  hour  later  the  fog  lifting.  Cape 
York  was  seen  five  miles  away,  sho^ving  that  the  run  had 
been  made  in  thirty-six  hours,  which  as  Greely  truly  observed 
was  "  without  parallel  or  precedent." 

Pushing  on  into  the  North  Water,  the  Proteus  reached 
the  Cary  Islands  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day.  Two 
parties  were  landed  on  Southeast  Cary  Island:  one  under 
Doctor  Pavy,  to  look  at  the  cairn  made  by  the  Pandora  /  the 
other,  under  Greely  himself,  to  examine  the  depot  left  by  Sir 
George  Nares.  At  the  depot  was  found  a  whale-boat  and  a 
large  supply  of  provisions,  all  in  good  condition. 

Leaving  the  Cary  group,  the  Proteus  reached  Littleton 
Island  at  about  noon  on  the  2d  of  August.  Here  she  re- 
mained ten  hours.  Some  necessary  repairs  of  the  wheel 
were  made,  and  the  island  was  thoroughly  searched.  The 
English  mail,  which  Sir  Allen  Young,  in  the  Pandora^ 
had  placed  here  in  1876  for  the  Alert  and  Discovery^  was 


*iiu 


The  Lady  FrcmJdin  Bay  Expedition. 


27 


found  and  brought  off  to  the  ship,  to  be  forwarded  to  Eng- 
land. What  was  supposed  to  be  the  Nares  cairn  was  discov- 
ered open  and  empty,  having  probably  been  plundered  by 
the  Etah  Eskimo.  Lieutenant  Kislingbury  and  Doctor  Pavy 
visited  the  Polaris^  winter-quarters  at  Lifeboat  Cove,  on  the 
mainland,  to  communicate  with  the  Eskimc;  but  they  had 
apparently  abandoned  the  place,  as  all  traces  of  them  were 
more  than  a  year  old.  The  transit  instrument  of  the  Polaris 
was  recovered.  It  was  decided  to  make  a  depot  of  fuel  for 
possible  future  use,  and  6^  tons  of  coal  were  landed  by  Lieu- 
tenant Lockwood,  placed  in  and  around  a  large  cask,  on  low 
ground,  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  island. 

Leaving  Littleton  Island  at  10.45  p.m.  August  2d,  the 
Proteus  went  direct  to  Cape  Hawks.  It  had  been  Greely's 
intention  to  stop  and  examine  the  Narcs  cache  at  Payer  Har- 
bor, near  Cape  Sabine,  but  the  weather  was  fair,  and  no  ice 
was  in  sight — an  almost  phenomenal  condition — and  he  did 
not  venture  to  delay.  Three  hours  after  starting  he  had 
passed  Cape  Sabine,  and  at  ten  minutes  after  nine  in  the 
morning  he  was  lying  to  just  north  of  Cape  Hawks,  between 
the  mainland  and  Washington  Irving  Island.  Lockwood 
and  Doctor  Pavy  landed  with  parties  on  the  island,  while 
Greely,  with  Kislingbury  and  another  party,  went  to  examine 
the  Nares  cache  on  the  Cape.  The  cache  was  found,  contain- 
ing a  large  quantity  of  bread,  some  of  which  was  mouldy, 
two  kegs  of  pickles,  two  partly  full  of  rum,  two  barrels  of 
stearine,  and  a  barrel  of  preserved  potatoes.  The  party  took 
off  with  them  a  keg  of  piccalilli,  one  of  the  kegs  of  rum,  and 
three  cans  of  potatoes,  to  try  them,  and  to  experiment  in 
cooking  them.  Greely  also,  as  he  was  short  of  boats,  brought 
off  the  jolly-boat  of  the  Valorous^  which  had  been  left  at  the 


IP 


'imh 


'  i 


■  IL, 


ii    :' 


Vi 


;   1 

■  1 

f    » 

f 

t 

.1 

i 

! 

i 

28 


The  Jiescue  of  Oreely. 


Cape  in  1875.  The  stores  that  were  left  behind  were  pro- 
tected more  securely  to  resist  the  weather. 

Two  hours  after  her  arrival,  the  Proteus  was  again  under 
way,  and  picking  up  the  parties  on  the  island,  steamed  cautious- 
ly in  a  northeasterly  direction,  along  the  western  shore  of  Kane 
Sea.  Cape  Louis  Napoleon  was  passed  at  1.10  p.  m.  and 
Cape  Frazer  at  3.  An  hour  later,  through  the  rifts  in  the 
fog  which  was  slowly  settling,  Greely  sighted  the  Greenland 
shore  at  the  northern  edge  of  the  Basin.  At  Cape  Colli  nson, 
just  before  the  entrance  to  Kennedy  Channel,  Nares  had  left 
another  provision-depot  of  240  rations.  Greely  passed  this 
point  at  half-past  five,  but  fearing  a  heavier  fog,  he  again 
concluded  not  to  land,  but  to  push  onward  to  his  destination. 
After  running  for  five  hours  or  more,  the  fog  became  so 
dense  that  the  ship  came  to  a  stop. 

Shortly  after  eleven  on  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  Au- 
gust 4th,  the  fog  lifted,  and  the  Protev^  advanced  to  Carl 
Hitter  Bay,  arriving  at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  This  was 
only  75  miles  from  the  end  of  his  journey,  and  Greely 
landed,  and  made  a  depot  of  225  rations,  as  a  provision  for 
his  possible  retreat  southward.  Thence  lie  hurried  on  to 
Cape  Lieber. 

Cape  Lieber  is  the  eastern  point  of  the  great  promontory 
separating  Archer  Fiord  and  its  embouchure.  Lady  Franklin 
Bay,  from  Kennedy  Channel.  Beyond  the  promontory,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  bay,  lies  Discovery  Harbor,  where  the  sta- 
tion was  to  be  fixed.  Up  to  this  point  the  voypge  had  been 
absolutely  free  from  danger  or  difiiculty,  and  it  looked  as  if 
the  terrors  of  Arctic  navigation  existed  only  in  the  minds 
of  explorers.  Tho  expedition  was  destined,  however,  to  have 
a  little  experience  before  it  reached  the  end  of  the  journey. 


m 


lU 


Tlie  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expediticni. 


29 


Approaching  the  bay  at  7.45  in  the  evening,  the  Protens 
found  a  heavy  pack  against  the  land,  and  made  a  wide  sweep 
to  the  eastward  to  pass  it.  All  went  well  and  good  progress 
was  made,  until  nine  o'clock,  when  the  vessel  reached  the 
southeast  point  of  the  bay.  Here  she  was  stopped,  for  the 
first  time  in  her  journey,  by  the  solid  ice-pack.  She  had 
come  from  TJpernivik  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  YOO  miles, 
through  all  the  perils  of  those  perilous  waters,  in  less  than 
seven  days,  and  had  met  no  obstacle,  seen  no  impending  danger ; 
and  now,  with  the  winter  station  in  sight  only  eight  miles 
away,  she  found  herself  face  to  face  with  an  impenetrable 
barrier.  The  polar  pack,  twenty,  thirty,  in  some  places  even 
fifty  feet  in  thickness,  cemented  to  a  solid  mass  by  harbor 
ice,  lay  close  to  Cape  Baird  on  the  west,  and  stretched  away 
in  a  vast  semicircle  to  the  Greenland  coast  on  the  east,  at 
the  mouth  of  Petermann  Fiord.  In  this  massive  wall  not  an 
opening  was  to  be  seen.  The  polar  current  driving  south- 
ward had  wedged  it  firmly  between  the  opposite  shores, 
where  it  lay  for  the  moment  immovable.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  wait,  and  the  ship  was  anchored  to  the 
edge  of  the  pack.  On  the  6th  the  ice  began  to  move,  and  the 
Proteus  shifted  her  moorings.  A  northerly  wind  blowing 
steadily  drove  the  pack  down,  forcing  the  vessel  before  it. 
Presently  the  ice  began  to  break  off  in  huge  masses.  The 
Proteus  steamed  around  the  floes  to  keep  head  against  the 
current,  and  to  lose  as  little  ground  as  possible.  During  the 
7th  and  8th,  ice  fields  reaching  twenty-five  miles  in  length 
passed  to  the  southward.  These  were  again  wedged  in  below, 
between  the  shores  of  Kennedy  Channel,  opposite  Carl  Rit- 
ter  Bay,  and  another  wall  was  formed  south  of  the  vessel. 
She  was  thus  hemmed  in  before  and  behind.    On  the  even- 


w 


\ 


M 


■I.; 


H' 


h     ! 


ifSi 


[Ji; 


80 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


ing  of  the  8tli  the  northern  pack  began  to  move  down  in 
a  solid  mass,  until  only  a  mile  of  open  water  remained.  The 
position  of  the  Proteus  was  now  critical,  and  a  nip  seemed 
imminent.  Fortunately  the  gap  did  not  close,  but  tlie  vessel 
was  for  the  next  two  days  driven  slowly  southward,  losing 
about  forty-five  miles. 

At  noon  of  the  10th  the  wind  came  out  from  the  south- 
west, and  the  situation  changed  at  once.  The  pack  began  to 
move  rapidly  to  the  north,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  11th 
open  water  could  be  seen  along  the  west  coast  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach.  The  Proteus  was  again  on  her  way,  and 
at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  had  passed  Cape  Lieber,  and 
in  two  hours  more  had  crossed  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  Enter- 
ing Discovery  Harbor  by  a  narrow  lane,  slie  rammed  her 
way  through  light  harbor  ice  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  the 
journey  was  ended. 

It  was  decided  to  fix  the  station  at  the  winter  quarters  of 
the  Discovery  rather  than  near  the  coal-seam  at  Watercourse 
Bay,  as  the  latter  point  was  exposed  to  the  pack  ice,  and  the 
ship  might  be  endangered  by  lying  there.  She  was  tliero- 
fore  on  the  12th  pushed  through  the  harbor  ice  to  within  a 
hundred  yards  from  the  shore,  and  the  work  of  unloading 
and  establishing  the  station  began  at  once.  In  sixty  hours 
the  cargo  of  stores  and  instruments  was  discharged.  One 
hundred  and  forty  tons  of  coal  wore  landed,  and  the  house 
was  rapidly  put  up.  The  post  was  now  established  under 
the  name  of  Fort  Conger. 

The  Proteus  remained  at  the  station  until  the  18th,  and 

vas  delayed  by  ice  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  a  week 

longer.     Under  date  of  the  15th  Greely  had  made  a  re]K)rt 

of  the  passage  up  and  the  installation  of  the  party,  and  dur- 


Tlie  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition. 


31 


iug  tlie  delay  occasional  bulletins  were  sent  off,  noting  the 
progress  of  preparations  for  the  winter  work.  On  the  ITtli 
Greely  requested  that  certain  necessary  stores  should  be  pro- 
cured through  the  Danish  Government,  to  be  brought  up 
with  the  expedition  of  1882.  On  the  18th  he  reported  that 
the  house  was  entirely  framed  and  partly  boarded,  and  by 
the  20th  it  had  been  covered.  Two  of  the  party  who  proved 
to  be  unfitted  for  the  service  were  sent  back  in  the  Proteus. 
By  far  the  most  important,  however,  of  the  communica- 
tions made  by  Greely  from  his  station  at  Fort  Conger,  in 
view  of  what  afterward  happened,  was  the  letter  of  August 
lYth,  in  which  he  gave  directions  to  govern  the  relief  parties 
which  had  been  promised,  and  on  which  he  depended.     The 

letter  was  as  follows : 

Fort  Conobb,  Qiiinnbll  Land, 

Augmt  17,  1881. 
CuiKF  Signal  OFPiCiiR  of  the  Army  : 

Sir  : — I  huvc  the  honor  to  recommend  that  in  connection  witli  tlio  ves- 
sel to  visit  this  station  in  1882  there  he  sent  some  captain  of  tlie  merchant 
service  who  has  had  experience  as  a  whaler  and  ice-master.  Five  enlist- 
ed men  of  the  Army  are  requested  to  replace,  men  invalided  or  who  are 
found  to  be  unfit  otherwise  for  the  work.  One  of  the  number  should  bo 
a  Signal  Service  sergeant.  Sergeant  Emory  Braine,  2d  C.avalry,  and 
Sergeant  Martin  Hamburg,  Company  E,  10th  Infantry,  are  rcconimend- 
ed  most  highly,  and  without  they  are  physically  or  morally  imllttcd 
within  the  year  their  detail  is  requested.  The  two  remaining  men  should 
be  Fiich as  have  had  some  sea  experience.  All  the  men  should  be  rigidly 
examined  as  to  their  physical  condition.  The  ice-master  should  be  ex- 
pected to  see  that  every  effort  Is  made  to  reach  this  point  by  the  vessel 
sent.  In  case  the  vessel  can  not  reach  this  point,  a  very  possible  con- 
tingency, a  depot  (No.  A)  should  be  made  at  a  permanent  ])olnt  on  the 
east  coast  of  Urinnell  Land  (west  side  of  Smith  Souni'  or  Kennedy  Chan- 
nel), consisting  of  ninety-six  cans  chocolate  and  milk,  ninety-six  cans 
coHeo  and  milk,  one-half  barrel  of  alcohol,  forty-eight  nuUton,  forty- 
oight  beef,  one  keg  rimi,  forty-eight  cans  sausage,  forty-eight  cans  mul- 
berry preserves,  two  barrels  bnuid,  oiu-  box  butter,  forty-eight  cans  con- 
densed milk,  one-half  barrel  onion  pickles,  forty-eight  cauH  cranl)erry 


ll!  ■ 


32 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Greely. 


Sftucc,  forty-eight  cans  soup,  twenty-four  cans  tomatoes,  one  gross  wax 
matches  (to  be  in  water-tight  case),  one-eighth  cord  of  wood,  one  wall- 
tent  (complete),  one  axe  and  helve,  one  whale-boat.  At  Littleton  Island, 
carefully  cached  on  the  western  point,  out  of  ordinary  sight,  with  no 
cairn,  should  be  placed  an  equal  amount  (depot  B),  but  no  boat.  A 
notice  as  to  the  exact  locality  should  be  left  in  the  top  of  the  coal  (prefer- 
ably in  a  corked  and  sealed  bottle)  buried  a  foot  deep,  which  was  left  on 
that  island.  A  second  notice  should  be  in  the  edge  of  the  coal  furthest 
inland,  and  a  third  in  the  Nares  cairn,  now  open,  which  is  on  summit 
southwest  part  of  island. 

The  second  boat  should  be  left  at  Cape  Prescott,  or  very  near,  in  order 
that  if  boats  are  necessarily  abandoned  above  that  jx)int  one  will  be  avail- 
able to  cross  to  Bache  Island  and  go  to  the  southward.  These  boats 
should  be  not  exceeding  forty  feet  and  not  less  than  twenty  above  high- 
water  mark,  and  their  pasilions  should  be  marked  by  substantial  scant- 
ling, well  secured  and  braced,  to  the  top  of  which  a  number  of  pieces  of 
canvas  should  be  well  nailed,  so  that  it  may  be  plainly  and  easily  seen. 
A  second  staff,  with  pieces  of  can  .as,  should  be  raised  on  a  point  which 
shows  prominently  to  the  northward,  so  a  party  can  see  it  a  long  dis- 
tance. Depots  A  and  B  should  be  made  ready  in  Saint  John's,  and  be 
plainly  marked  and  carefully  secured. 

The  i)ackages  during  the  voyage  should  be  easily  accessible.  Depot  A 
should  be  landed  at  the  farthest  possible  northern  point.  A  few  miles  is 
important,  and  no  southing  should  be  permitted  to  obtain  a  prominent 
location.  The  letters  and  dispatches  should  all  be  carefully  soldered  up 
in  a  tin  case,  and  then  boxed  (at  Saint  John's)  and  marked,  or  put  in  a 
well-strapped,  water-tight  keg,  and  should  bo  left  with  depot  A  if  such 
depot  shall  be  at  or  north  or  in  plain  sight  of  Capo  Hawks,  and  the 
newspajiers  and  periodicals  left  at  Littleton  Island.  If  doiwt  A  is  not  so 
far  north,  the  letters  and  all  mail  should  l)o  returned  to  the  United 
States.  After  making  depot  B,  at  Litt'eton  Island,  the  vessel  should,  if 
possible,  leave  a  record  of  its  proceedinu^s  at  Ca|)o  Sabine.  If  tlu!  party 
does  not  reach  here  in  1883,  there  should  be  sent  in  18Hi]  a  (;api»ble,  ener- 
getic ofllcer,  with  ten  (10)  men,  elj^ht  of  whom  should  have  hud  pra(!lical  sea 
exi)erience,  provided  with  three  whale-boats  and  ample  provisions  for 
forty  (10)  persons  for  fifteen  njonths.  The  list  of  all  provisions  taken  by 
me  this  year  would  answer  exceedingly  well.  In  (!iise  the  vessel  was 
obliged  to  turn  southward  (she  should  not  leave  Smith  Sound  near  Capo 
Sabine  before  September  15th)  it  should  leave  duplicates  of  depots  A  and 
B  of  1882  at  two  different  points,  one  of  which  should  be  between  (^ipo 
Sabiuo  uud  Bu.ch«)  Island,  thu  other  tu  bo  an  iutermcdlate  depot  bctwoeti 


'H 


The  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition. 


33 


two  depots  already  established.  Similar  rules  as  to  indicating  U)oality 
should  be  insisted  on.  Thus  the  Grinnell  Land  coast  would  be  covered 
with  seven  depots  of  ten  days'  provisions  in  less  than  three  hundred 
miles,  not  including  the  two  months'  supplies  at  Cape  Hawks. 

The  party  should  then  proceed  to  establish  a  winter  station  at  Polaris 
winter  quarters,  Lifeboat  Cove,  where  their  main  duty  would  be  to  keep 
their  telescopes  on  Cape  Sabine  and  the  land  to  the  northward.  Tliey 
should  have  lumber  enough  for  house  and  observatory,  fifty  tons  of  coal, 
and  complete  meteorological  and  magnetic  outfit.  Being  furnished  with 
dogs,  sledges,  and  a  native  driver,  a  party  of  at  least  six  (6)  men  should 
proceed,  when  practicable,  to  Cape  Sabine,  whence  a  sledge  party  north- 
ward of  two  best-fitted  men  should  reach  Cape  Hawks,  if  not  Capo 
Collinson.  Such  action,  from  advice,  expex'ience,  and  observation,  seems 
to  me  all  that  can  be  done  to  insure  our  safety.  No  deviation  from  these 
instructions  should  be  permitted.  Latitude  of  action  should  not  be  given 
to  a  relief  party  who  on  a  known  coast  are  searching  for  men  who  know 
their  plans  and  orders.  I  am  respectfully  yours, 

A.  W.  Greelt, 
\st  Lieut.  5th  Cav.,  A.  S.  0.  and  Ass't,  Commanding  Expedition. 

On  the  25tli  Greely  sent  this  last  dispatch : 

L.  F.  Bay,  August  25,  1881. 
All  stores  under  cover.  Freezing  weather  commenced.  Observatory 
under  way.  House  entirely  done  except  inside  work,  which  can  be  done 
at  leisure.  Otart  a  small  party  north  and  one  into  interior  in  few  days. 
Ice  in  L.  F.  Bay  has  unfortunately  not  gone  out  at  all  this  year,  and  so 
steam  launch  is  kept  here.  No  snow  on  ground.  Party  all  well.  Pro- 
teus delayed  by  ice  at  <>ntranco  to  harbor  for  days,  although  channel  open 
outside.  Since  Starr  and  llyun  are  gone,  seven  men  should  come  next 
year.    Lowest  temp.,  22". 0  ca  20th. 

,„     ,      ,,  A.   W.   OUEELY. 

Gen.  W.  B.  FLvzen, 

Chief  8igma  Officer,  Washington,  D.  C,  United  States. 

Soon  after  this  dispatcli  was  written  the  Proteua  startcMl 
on  tlie  voyage  lionie.     Tliis  was  accomplished  as  rapidly  and 
with  as  little  difticnlty  as  \\q  journey  \i\),  and  the  ship  oi'- 
rived  ut  St.  John's  about  the  12th  of  September. 
8 


/ 


84 


The  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


Greely  and  his  companions,  numbering  twenty-five  in  all, 
were  now  left  to  their  own  resources.  They  were  to  begin 
at  once  the  magnetic  and  meteorological  observations,  and 
the  more  brilliant,  though  perhaps  not  more  important,  work 
of  exploration — all  of  which  was  to  occupy  them  during  two 
years  of  Arctic  solitude  and  isolation.  They  were  well  pro- 
yided  with  all  that  could  be  had  to  make  life  bearable  in  that 
dreary  and  desolate  region.  Their  provisions  were  ample  for 
three  years,  and  before  the  ship  left  they  had  killed  at  the 
station  three  full  months'  rations  of  musk-oxen.  The  supply 
of  beef  on  the  spot  would  be  enough  to  keep  them  from  want 
long  after  the  period  when  the  stores  they  had  taken  with 
them  were  exhausted.  Moreover,  they  rested  in  the  confi- 
dent belief  that  a  vessel  would  be  sent  to  them  in  the  next 
summer,  and  again  in  1883,  as  had  been  promised,  or,  if 
these  failed,  that  a  station  of  refuge  would  bo  established  at 
Lifeboat  Cove,  260  miles  to  the  southward ;  and  they  settled 
down  to  their  work  in  i^ood  health  and  courage,  with  no  ap- 
prehensions of  the  future.  How  terribly  their  expectations 
were  to  be  disappointed,  and  how  it  happened  that  the  disas- 
ter overtook  them  which  such  precautions  had  been  taken  to 
avert,  is  to  bo  told  in  the  chapters  that  follow. 


I      i 


i 


1. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  RELIEF  EXPEDITION   OF  1882. — THE  NEPTUNE. 


t    \ 


Thb  fortunate  voyage  of  the  Proteus  in  making  her  way 
in  six  days  from  Upernivik  to  the  edge  of  Lady  Franklin 
Bay  without  a  check  had  one  most  unfortunate  result.  It 
created  a  false  impression  in  everybody's  mind,  not  only  that 
the  station  could  be  reached  easily,  but  that  it  could  be 
reached  without  danger.  The  fact  was  forgotten  that  of  all 
the  vessels  that  had  ever  attempted  to  pass  Kane  Sea  only 
three  had  accomplished  the  voyage  before  the  Proteus,  and 
that  these  had  accomplished  it  at  great  risk.  The  influence 
of  this  impression  that  the  difficulties  had  been  exaggerated 
was  seen  again  and  again  in  the  events  of  the  next  two  years. 

In  preparing  for  the  expedition  of  1882  the  suggestions  of 
Lieutenant  Greely's  letter  of  August  17th  were  carefully  fol- 
lowed. The  letter  did  not  draw  up  a  complete  plan  for  the 
expeditions,  although  some  of  its  directions  were  extremely 
minute  and  specific ;  but  was  rather  a  memorandum,  contain- 
ing such  suggestions  as  occurred  to  him  after  the  experience 
of  tlie  voyage.  Thus  it  is  not  quite  clear  from  tlio  letter 
wliat  kind  of  vessel  was  to  bo  sent  on  the  first  relief  expedi- 
tion. The  object  of  this  expedition  was  to  carry  a  detach- 
ment of  five  enlisted  men  to  the  station  (or  seven,  as  tlio  last 
bulletin  suggested),  one  of  them  to  be  a  Signal  Service  ser- 
geant, together  with  a  mail  and  certain  stores  and  instru- 
ments, and  to  make  two  depots  at  points  below.    No  men- 


}\ 


I 


'i 


'}. 


36 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


I  . 


tion  was  made  of  a  commissioned  officer,  altliougli  tlie  uuty 
was  an  important  and  arduous  one.  This  fact  and  the  sug- 
gestion that  a  "  captain  of  the  mercliant  service,  who  has  had 
experience  as  a  whaler  and  ice-master,"  should  accompany 
the  vessel,  would  seem  to  imply  a  possible  intention  that  a 
naval  vesbel  should  be  employed.  Possibly  no  such  idea  ex- 
isted ;  but  at  any  rate  it  was  not  distinctly  stated  what  the 
vessel  was  to  be,  or  who  was  to  be  responsible  except  the  ex- 
perienced "  captain  of  the  merchant  service  "  for  the  success 
or  failure  of  the  enterprise.  Of  course,  there  was  no  neces- 
sity of  making  specific  recommendations  upon  these  points, 
as  they  could  be  determined  by  the  authorities  at  home. 

The  two  depots,  A  and  B,  were  to  be  made,  "  in  case  the 
vessel  can  not  reach  "  Lady  Fr  iklin  Bay.  This  was  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  original  instructions  to  Grefily,  in  the 
preparation  of  whicii  he  was  doubtless  consulted.  Depoi  A 
was  to  be  landed  at  the  furthest  possible  northern  point,  and 
depot  B  on  Littleton  Island.  The  exact  quantity  of  stores 
composing  the  depots  was  prescribed,  and  was  the  same  for 
both,  each  depot  being  estimated  at  250  rations.  Two  boats 
were  to  be  taken — one  to  be  left  at  depot  A,  tl  .  other  at 
Cape  Prescott. 

The  purpose  of  depot  A  and  of  the  two  boats  is  clear. 
They  were  to  be  at  points  on  the  coast  of  Grinnell  Land,  and 
therefore  to  serve  as  aids  in  a  retreat  southward  in  addition 
to  those  already  provided.  The  object  of  placing  depot  B 
on  Littleton  Island  is  not  ol)viou8.  It  wjjg  intended  in  case 
of  a  retreat  the  next  year  to  have  a  relief  party  there  with  a 
very  large  depot,  enough  for  both  detachments  for  fifteen 
months-  -certainly  not  less  than  18,000  rations.  If  this  largo 
depot  was  established  in  1883, — and  its  establishment  was 


''■ji 


Tlie  Relief  Expedition  of  1882.— 7%^  Neptune.      37 

clearly  tlie  mosi;  vital  element  in  the  whole  plan  of  relief, — 
the  250  rations  of  1882  would  be  superfluous.  If  through 
any  mishap  this  supremely  important  depot  of  18,000  rations 
should  not  be  made,  the  250  rations  of  1882  would  be  utterly 
inadequate  to  supply  its  place.  The  only  other  possible  ex- 
planation of  depot  B  is,  that  if  the  large  depot  was  not  es- 
tablished, Greely  meant  to  use  Littleton  Island  as  a  way  sta- 
tion to  the  Gary  Islands,  one  hundred  miles  below,  where 
1,800  rations  were  deposited;  but  this  would  seem  to  be 
negatived  by  his  express  direction  not  to  leave  a  boat  with 
the  depot,  where,  if  such  a  plan  was  contemplated,  it  might 
be  of  great  use. 

Measures  were  taken  early  to  set  on  foot  preparations  for 
the  relief  party.  On  November  30,  1881,  the  Chief  Signal 
Officer  called  the  attention  of  the  Adjutant-General  to  Lieu- 
tenant Greely's  requests,  and  asked  that  the  General  of  the 
Army  would  call  for  volunteer  offers  to  complete  the  detail 
required  for  service  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  On  the  2d  of 
December,  a  letter  was  written  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  pre- 
senting revised  estimates  for  the  required  appropriation  to 
the  amount  recommended  by  Greely,  namely,  $33,000,  and 
stating  that  the  expedition  should  sail  July  Ist.  On  the  5th, 
the  two  whale-boats  were  ordered  at  New  Bedford,  and  pro- 
posals for  the  supplies  were  invited  from  firms  at  St.  John's. 
On  the  same  day,  the  Danish  minister  was  asked  to  take  the 
necessary  steps  in  ord*' '  that  his  Government  might  direct 
that  the  stores  mentioned  by  Greely  should  be  ready  for  de- 
livery in  Greenland 

On  the  Gth  of  May,  1882,  a  board  of  officers  attached  to 
the  Signal  Service  was  orderrAi  to  meet  in  "Washington  and 
consider  plans  for  the  supply  expeditions  at  Point  Barrow 


I 


I 


li 


ii 


m  I 


hi,i 


I   I 


II 


II 


;ii 


38 


The  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


and  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  Two  days  later  the  Chief  Signal 
OflEicer  asked  that  an  agent  be  sent  to  charter  a  steamer  at  St. 
John's,  and  that  a  naval  oflSicer  should  be  detailed  to  accom- 
pany him.  Mr.  William  M.  Beebe,  Jr.,  a  private  in  General 
Service,  was  designated  as  the  agent,  and  ordered  to  St. 
John's,  and  Commander  S.  Dana  Greene,  of  the  Navy,  was 
ordered  to  inspect  the  steamers  offered.  As  no  appropriatioTi 
had  yet  been  made,  Beebe  was  directed  to  enter  into  a  pro- 
visional contract,  conditional  upon  the  passage  of  the  appro- 
priation. Reports  from  St.  John's  indicated  that  the  season 
was  bad  and  that  the  time  was  late  for  securing  a  suitable 
vessel. 

Commander  Greene  and  Mr.  Beebe  sailed  from  Baltimore 
on  the  17th  of  May,  and  arrived  at  St.  John's  on  the  24:th. 
They  found  that  there  were  three  sealing  vessels  suitable  for 
the  work,  the  Proteus^  Neptune^  and  Bear,  but  the  last  re- 
quired repairs,  and  would  not  be  available.  Two  smaller  ves- 
sels, the  Hector  and  Ranger,  were  also  adapted  to  the  service, 
but  they  were  of  less  steam  power  and  speed.  Of  the  three 
larger  vessels,  tenders  were  received  for  the  Proteus  and 
Neptune,  and  the  bid  for  the  latter  being  the  lower,  it  was 
accepted.  A  provisional  contract  was  made  with  the  owners 
June  3d,  which  ^ecame  final  when  the  appropriation  was 
passed  June  27th. 

The  Neptune  had  her  own  officers  and  crew.  Her  master 
was  William  Sopp,  a  very  capable  seaman.  Her  chief  mate 
was  Norman,  who  had  been  mate  of  the  Proteus  on  her  voy- 
age of  the  previous  year,  and  who  first  and  last  was  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  the  relief  expeditions.  Apparently  it  had 
not  originally  been  intended  to  send  Beebe  farther  than  the 
Greenland  ports,  where  he  was  to  secure  certain  additional 


<i|ii 


Tlw  Relief  Ex^itim  of  1882.— 7%6  Nej^tune.     Z'd 


stores ;  but  on  the  4th  of  June  he  was  designated  to  accom- 
pany the  expedition  to  Grinuell  Land.  "With  him  were  a 
surgeon,  and  a  sergeant  and  four  privates.  Delays  or  deser- 
tions prevented  the  departure  of  the  others  who  had  been 
selected. 

Most  of  the  stores  for  the  expedition  had  been  sent  to  St. 
John's  in  the  steamer  Alhambra^  one  of  the  regular  line  of 
steamers  plying  between  that  port  and  New  York.  The 
orders  to  Beebe  were  based  on  Greely's  letter  of  August  lYth, 
and  gave  directions  for  the  establishment  of  the  two  caches, 
in  case  the  Neptune  failed  to  reach  Lady  Franklin  Bay. 
These,  as  already  stated,  amounted  to  250  rations  each.  In 
addition  to  these  the  ship  carried  a  quantity  of  stores  for  the 
expedition,  including  over  2,000  pounds  of  canned  meats, 
2,500  pounds  of  canned  fruits  and  vegetables,  6  tons  of  seal 
meat,  60  gallons  of  rum,  300  pounds  extract  of  coffee,  and 
other  miscellaneous  provisions,  which,  for  some  unaccount- 
able reason,  Beebe  was  ordered  to  bring  back  in  the  event  of 
failing  to  reach  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  and  which  he  actually 
did  bring  back,  to  be  stored  at  St.  John's,  from  which  place 
they  were  carried  up  next  summer,  to  be  sunk  in  the  Pro- 
teus. They  would  have  kept  better  in  the  ice  upon  the  rocks 
at  Cape  Sabine. 

The  selection  of  Beebe  as  the  person  in  charge  of  the 
expedition  was  made  by  the  Chief  Signal  OflBcer,  who 
described  him  in  a  letter  of  May  8th,  to  the  Secretary  of 
"War,  in  the  following  terms :  "  I  desire  to  send,"  as  agent  to 
St.  John's,  "  Mr.  "William  M.  Beebe,  now  a  private  in  general 
service,  my  private  secretary.  He  was  an  officer  of  merit 
on  my  staff  in  the  war."  Beebe  seems  to  have  had  some 
apprehension  of  the  embarrassments  that  would  arise  from 


I 


\^ 


\:mV 


: 


1    '• 


t 


40 


The  Rescue  of  Gredy. 


his  situation  as  a  private,  in  charge  of  an  expedition  that 
included  a  sergeant,  and  on  the  4th  of  June  he  wrote  to 
General  Hazen  :  "  I  should  either  be  made  a  sergeant,  dating 
back  to  rank  whoever  may  come,  or  better  still  (and  the 
President  upon  your  request  would,  under  the  circumstances, 
do  it)  be  made  a  lieutenant."  This  solution  of  the  problem 
appears  to  have  been  impracticable,  and  the  Signal  Office, 
in  a  letter  of  June  18tb,  giving  Beebe  his  instructions,  de- 
fined his  position  as  follows : 


1 


In  reply  to  your  letter  of  June  4th,  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  instructs 
me  to  say  the  men  named,  "  enclosure  A,"  or  such  of  them  as  have  re- 
ported, will  be  directed  to  report  to  you  to  be  guided  by  the  following 
instructions,  wherein,  though  you  can  not  lawfully  be  vested  with  powers 
of  command,  it  is  hoped  you  will  have  no  difficulty  of  securing  compli- 
ance by  the  use  of  your  personal  influence,  supported  by  your  official 
connection  as  disclosed  by  this  letter. 

Dr.  Hoadley  will  go  up  as  medical  officer,  and  you  will  find  his  as- 
sociation agreeable. 

You  will  not  delay  sailing  beyond  the  time  necessary  to  take  in  the 
stores  and  that  required  to  put  the  ship  in  serviceable  condition.  Your 
point  of  destination  will  be  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  Grinnell  Land,  where  you 
will  report  to  Lieut.  Greely  for  his  orders,  and  when  the  ship  is  ready  to 
return  you  will  bring  back  such  dispatches,  etc.,  as  Lieut.  Greely  may 
entrust  to  you. 

If  unable  to  reach  Lady  Franklin  Bay  you  will  establish  the  depots 
"  A  "  and  "  B,"  as  requested  by  Lieut.  Greely  in  the  memorandum  which 
you  have  already  been  furnished.  You  will  observe  that  these  depots 
are  to  be  established  only  in  the  event  that  it  is  impossible  to  reach  Lieut. 
Greely.  The  supplies,  therefore,  under  favorable  circumstances,  all  go 
to  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  and  those  stores  which  are  needed  to  establish 
depots  "A"  and  "  B  "  are  included.  Capt.  Clapp,  who  goes  to  New 
York  with  the  stores,  will  arrange,  as  far  as  possible,  for  marking  tlie 
packages  so  that  they  may  be  separated  and  stowed  at  Saint  John's,  con- 
venient for  the  depots,  if  it  should  become  necessary  to  establish  them. 
If  he  should  be  unable  to  complete  this  it  should  bo  done  by  your  men  at 
Saint  John's. 

If  you  should  lie  unable  to  reach  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  after  establish- 


The  Relief  Expeditim  of  1882.-77*6  Neptune.     41 

ing  the  depots  you  will  return  with  the  vessel  and  the  remainder  of  her 
stores  to  Suint  John's  and  report  your  arrival  by  telegraph. 


Yours  very  respectfully, 

Louis  V.  Caziarc, 
'  '<  Lieut.  2d  Artillery,  Acting  Sij,nal  Officer. 

The  Neptune  sailed  from  St.  John's  on  the  8th  of  J  uly, 
and  arrived  at  Godhavn  on  the  17th,  where  such  supphes  as 
the  Daniiih  authorities  could  furnish  were  taken  on  board. 
Leaving  Godhavn  on  the  20th,  the  ship  shaped  her  course 
directly  across  Melville  Bay,  without  going  to  Upernivik. 
Making  her  way  slowly  and  with  difficulty,  frequently 
stopped  by  the  ice-pack,  but  always  gaining,  she  came  in 
sight  of  Cape  York  on  the  25th.  Here  she  was  beset  for  a 
time  and  drifted  with  the  tides.  On  the  28th  she  was  again 
advancing,  and  at  Y  o'clock  in  the  evening  had  passed  the 
Gary  Islands.  Littleton  Island  was  reached  early  the  next 
morning. 

So  far  all  had  gone  well.  But  half  an  hour  after  passing 
Littleton  Island  the  ship's  progress  was  suddenly  stopped. 
Going  on  deck,  'Beebe  found  a  wall  of  solid  pack-ice  extend- 
ing across  the  head  of  Smith  Sound,  from  Rosse  Bay  on  the 
west  to  Cape  Inglefield  on  the  east.  According  to  his  re- 
port, the  ice  was  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  thick,  and 
stretched  out  to  the  northern  horizon.  After  following  its 
edge  for  some  distance,  without  findi  ig  a  lead  or  a  crack,  the 
ship  was  turned  southward,  and  passing  Littleton  Island  and 
Port  Foulke,  came  to  anchor  in  Pandora  Harbor. 

Tlie  next  forty  days  were  spent  in  a  fruitless  effort  to 
penetrate  the  ice  in  Kane  Sea.  During  the  frst  week  the 
ship  remained  in  the  harbor,  riding  out  a  succession  of  soiith- 


\t\ 


■1 


42 


The  Rescue  of  Oreehf. 


westerly  gales.  On  this  side,  the  harbor  is  exposed  to  the 
wind,  and  the  ship  parted  her  hawser  twice,  and  once  lost  an 
anchor.  On  the  Yth  of  August  a  second  attempt  was  made 
to  pass  the  barrier.  The  gale  had  loosened  the  ice  somewhat, 
and  the  Nejpiune^  steaming  directly  north,  toward  Cape 
Hawks,  at  first  made  satisfactory  progress.  Gradually  the 
ice  became  denser,  until  by  evening  it  was  impassable,  and 
the  ship  was  made  fast  to  the  floe  off  Victoria  Head,  the 
northeast  end  of  Bache  Island.  The  pack  closed  in  gradual- 
ly, and  the  position  would  have  been  criti-^al  had  it  not  been 
that  the  ice  around  the  ship  was  broken  up  and  soft,  and  the 
pressure  of  the  heavy  floes,  grinding  it  to  powder,  made  a 
cushion  underneath  and  about  the  huU,  which,  while  it 
raised  the  ship  several  feet,  protected  her  from  the  severe 
pressure. 

Here  the  Neptune  was  fairly  beset.  For  a  week  her 
movements  were  confined  within  an  area  of  twelve  miles 
square.  One  day,  the  10th,  she  got  within  twelve  miles  of 
Cape  Hawks.  This  was  her  furthest  northern  point. 
Beebe  formed  the  opinion  that  the  intervening  ice  could  not 
be  traversed,  and  he  was  therefore  unable  to  reach  the  place 
where  he  had  decided  to  make  his  depot.  On  the  11th  the 
pack  closed  in,  piling  the  ice  as  high  as  the  steamer's  rail. 
On  the  12tli  it  began  to  relax,  and  by  the  15tli  the  ship  was 
out  of  its  clutches,  having  rammed  her  way  into  open  water 
to  the  southward.  Following  the  edge  of  the  pack  to  the 
eastern  shore  of  Smith  Sound,  at  Cape  Inglefield,  she  turned 
back  to  Payer  Harbor,  where  she  arrived  on  the  18th. 

Here  the  ship  found  an  anchorage,  between  Cape  Sabine 
and  Brevoort  Island.  Beebe  took  this  occasion  to  examine 
the  English  cache,  made  by  the  Discovery  in  1875,  on  the 


Tlic  Belief  Expeditim  of  1882.-77/^  Neptune.     43 


long  tidal  island  or  peninsula  in  the  harbor.  This  cache, 
which  became  later  bo  important,  was  found  to  contain  one 
barrel  of  canned  beef,  two  tins  (40  pounds  each)  of  bacon, 
one  barrel  (110  pounds)  dog-biscuit,  two  barrels  (120  rations 
each)  biscuit,  all  in  good  condition ;  240  rations,  consisting  of 
chocolate  and  sugar,  tea  and  sugar,  potatoes,  wicks,  tobacco, 
salt,  stearine,  onion  powder,  and  matches,  in  fairly  good  con- 
dition. Three  casks  that  had  contained  rum  and  alcohol  had 
been  separated  from  the  other  packages  and  broken,  and 
their  contents  had  evaporated  or  leaked  out.  The  cache  was 
rebuilt  and  made  secure,  and  marked  by  two  oars  placed  up- 
right in  the  rock.     No  provisions  or  stores  were  landed. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  as  the  southwest  wind  had  been 
blowing  with  considerable  force  for  two  days,  and  ice  floes 
were  seen  passing  southward,  the  Neptune  started  out  on 
her  third  attempt  to  reach  Cape  Hawks.  Again  the  ice-wall 
was  encountered,  this  time  a  short  distance  above  Cape  Sa- 
bine. Skirting  the  wall  to  the  eastward,  open  water  was 
found  in  mid-channel.  This  lead  was  followed  to  a  point 
nearly  due  east  from  Cape  Prescott,  where  it  stopped.  Again 
the  pack  was  eagerly  scanned,  and  again  it  appeared  to  extend 
miles  away  to  the  northward,  while  its  impenetrable  border 
reached  the  Greenland  shore.  The  wind  from  the  southwest 
increasing,  the  ship  was  turned  southward,  and  as  the  captain 
dechned  to  remain  at  Lifeboat  Cove  or  at  Foulke  Fiord,  and 
Payer  Harbor  was  now  closed  by  ice,  she  returned  to  her  first 
anchorage  at  Pandora  Harbor,  arriving  August  24th.  Two 
weeks  had  made  rapid  changes  in  its  appearance,  warning  the 
expedition  that  winter  was  approaching.  The  scanty  vegeta- 
tion had  become  faded  and  brown,  the  birds  had  disappeared, 
and  the  summits  of  the  cliffs  were  covered  with  snow. 


X 


{ 


I  I. 


i 


'H 


44 


77ie  IiesGV£  of  Greel/y. 


On  the  25th  the  Neptune  left  Pandora  Ilarhor  to  make 
her  fourth  trial.  For  four  days  she  moved  backwards  and 
forwards  in  an  irregular  course  along  the  pack,  sometimes 
making  a  little  progress  northward,  but  not  succeeding  in 
approaching  as  neai  to  Cape  Hawks  as  on  the  second  attempt. 
A  sledge  had  by  this  time  been  made  to  carry  the  stores  over 
the  ice-pack,  but  the  continual  grinding  and  crushing  to 
which  the  pack  was  exposed  had  thrown  the  ice  up  in  hum- 
mocks, making  it  impassable.  Moreover,  the  whole  pack 
seemed  to  be  moving  bodily  southward,  and  Beebe,  fearful 
that  he  might  be  c  ut  off  from  the  positions  in  Smith  Sound 
at  which  as  a  last  resort  he  was  to  make  depots,  returned  to 
Littleton  Island. 

On  the  morning  of  August  29th  he  landed  at  the  island  to 
find  a  place  for  a  cache.  Natives  were  seen  on  the  mainland 
opposite,  at  Cape  Ohlsen,  who  had  apparently  discovered  his 
presence.  Crossing  ovf»r,  he  found  that  they  were  a  hunting 
party  of  Etah  Esk'mo^  six  men  and  three  women,  who  wished 
to  visit  the  ship.  As  the  Etahs  would  probably  rifle  any 
caclie  they  could  find,  Reebe  concluded  to  postpone  making 
the  depot  here,  and  to  go  over  to  Cape  Sabine.  Standing 
across  the  sound,  he  landed  and  established  his  cache  at  this 
point,  the  northernmost  land  he  had  reached.  The  stores, 
amounting  to  250  rntions,  one-eighth  of  a  cord  of  l)irch  wood, 
and  a  whale-boat,  were  placed  in  a  sheltered  spot  to  the  west 
of  the  Capo,  well  secured  and  covered  by  a  tarpaulin  ;  while  at 
a  prominent  point  a  cairn  was  made,  in  which  was  a  record 
giving  the  bearings  of  the  cacbe,  and  over  it  was  i)laced  a  tri- 
pod made  of  scantling,  securely  anchored  with  rocks,  and 
showing  well  to  the  northward.     A  description  was  also  left 


\ 


The  Relief  Expeditimi  of  1882.— 77<e  Neptune.     45 

of  tlie  English  depot  in  Payer  Harbor.  Leaving  Cape  Sabine, 
the  Neptune^  as  sliown  by  her  track  chart,  made  her  fifth 
attempt  to  pass  the  pack,  again  without  Biiccess,  and  after 
reaching  a  point  opposite  Cape  Albert  on  Bache  Island,  re- 
turned in  a  northeast  gale  and  found  a  temporary  refuge 
under  the  lee  of  Cape  Ohlsen,  to  tiie  southward  of  Littleton 
Island,  where  the  party  of  Eskimo  still  remained. 

On  the  2d  of  September,  the  gale  having  abated,  the  Nep- 
tune made  her  sixth  and  iinal  effort.  Heavy  fijld-icc  was 
found  off  Cape  Sabine,  increasing  in  size  and  thickness  as  the 
ship  advanced,  until  the  captain  refused  to  go  further,  and  at 
8  o'clock  in  the  evening  she  was  tied  up  to  a  floe.  An  hour 
later,  new  ice  had  fcrmed  to  the  thickness  of  three  inches, 
cementing  the  broken  floes.  The  next  day,  September  3d, 
the  ship  was  anchored  to  the  ice  all  day,  only  shifting  her 
bfi'th  to  avoid  the  broken  masses. 

On  the  4th,  finding  it  impossible  to  advance,  the  new  ice 
having  increased  in  thickness,  and  a  leak  having  started  in 
the  boiler,  l^cebe  d^!cided  to  go  back  to  Littleton  Island  and 
make  his  second  depot.  Although  the  Etahs  were  still  about, 
there  was  no  time  to  bo  lost,  and  the  stores,  amounting  to  250 
rations,  were  i:'iaod  in  a  cove  at  the  north  end  of  the  island, 
covered  with  a  tarpaulin,  anchored  with  rocks,  and  so  con- 
cealed as  to  be  visible  only  at  a  few  yards'  distance.  Minute 
directions  for  finding  the  stores  were  placed  at  the  points  in- 
dicated in  (Ireely's  letter,  two  copies  in  the  coal  at  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  island,  and  one  in  the  Naros  ciiirn  on  the 
southwestern  summit.  After  completing  this  work,  the  vc>s- 
sel  crossed  over  to  Capo  Isabella,  and  left  tlui  remaining 
whale-boat,  marking  its  position  by  a  tripod.     This  done, 


i/ 


m 


,   I 


46 


The  Rescue  of  Gredy. 


nothing  could  be  gained  by  a  longer  stay,  and  a  little  before 
midnight  on  September  5th,  the  Neptune  started  on  her 
homeward  voyage.  Godhavn  was  reached  on  the  8th,  and 
after  a  week's  delay  to  make  repairs  to  the  boiler,  the  ship 
left  Godhavn  for  St.  John's.  Here  she  arrived  September 
24th,  and  the  expedition  of  1882  was  ended. 


ittle  before 
bed  on  her 
le  8th,  and 
5r,  the  ship 
September 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  KELIEF  EXPEDITION  OF  1883. — THE  PROTEUS. 

The  first  relief  expedition  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  a 
failure,  as  far  as  the  final  result  was  concerned,  as  it  performed 
every  duty  bearing  materially  on  that  result  with  which  it 
had  been  charged.  True,  it  had  not  reached  Lady  Franklin 
Bay,  but  th.\t  was  in  no  way  essential,  as  Greely  was  to  stay 
only  one  year  longer,  and  still  had  two  years'  supplies.  The 
arrival  of  the  Neptune  at  Camp  Conger  would  not  have 
altered  one  whit  the  final  catastrophe,  except  by  making  a 
few  changes  in  the  list  of  its  victims.  In  regard  to  the 
placing  of  stores,  Beebe  had  carried  out  his  instructions  to 
the  letter,  except  that  one  of  the  depots  had  been  made  at 
Cape  Sabine  instead  of  at  a  point  to  the  north  ward,  in  Grin- 
nell  Land,  —which  was  a  most  happy  mischance.  In  the 
amount  of  ^  rovisions  deposited,  the  directions  of  the  Signal 
0->^co  were  exactly  followed :  250  rations,  or  ten  days'  sup- 
ply, had  been  left  at  each  depot ;  and  the  remainder  of  the 
stores  carried  by  the  Neptune.,  amounting  to  at  least  2,000 
rations,  or  a  full  supply  for  three  months,  had  been  safely 
brought  back  to  St.  John's  from  the  perils  of  the  Arctic. 

After  the  return  of  the  relief  party,  it  became  a  matter  of 
very  grave  importance  to  make  such  arrangements  for  the 
expedition  of  the  next  sutnmer  as  would  eimuro  success.  Tlio 
general  guide  to  be  followed  in  prej)aring  ilie  ])lnn,aH  before, 
would  naturally  be  Greely's  letter  of  August  17, 1881,  giving 

(47) 


li 


i  I 


1  » 
( 


HI 


•  -i 


! 


hi 


¥ 


i 


ill 


I 


48 


The  Hescite  of  Greely. 


an  outline  of  the  steps  which  he  desired  to  have  taken.  This 
plan  was  briefly  to  send  a  capable  ofl[icer  and  ten  men,  eight 
of  whom  sliould  have  had  practical  sea-experience,  with  three 
whale-boats  and  provisions  for  forty  men  for  fifteen  months. 
If  the  vessel  was  obhged  to  turn  southward,  she  should  leave 
small  depots  similar  to  those  of  the  year  before,  at  points  in- 
termediate between  depots  already  established  o^  the  coast  of 
Grinnell  Land,  thus  completing  the  series  of  way-stations  in 
case  of  a  retreat  by  boat.  The  relief  party  ^v^ere  then  to  es- 
tablish their  winter  station  at  Lifeboat  Jove,  close  by  Little- 
ton Island,  "  where  their  main  duty  would  be  to  keep  their 
telescopes  on  Cape  Sabine  and  the  land  to  the  northward," 
and  when  ostablished  there,  with  provisions,  house,  coal, 
boats,  sledgjs,  and  dogs,  they  should  send  a  detachment  to 
Cape  Sabine,  and  thence  to  Cape  Hawks,  or  even  to  Capo 
Collinson. 

On  the  Ist  of  November  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  submit- 
ted to  the  Secretary  of  War  a  plan  for  the  relief  expedition, 
the  details  of  which  accorded  with  Greely's  general  sketch, 
which  was  enclosed  as  a  part  of  the  plan.  General  Ilazen 
stated  that  the  expedition  should  leave  St.  John's  by  June 
15th,  and  if  possible  reach  Discovery  Harbor.  Failing  this 
it  should  land  at  the  designated  point,  establish  itself  for  the 
winter,  and  open  communication  with  Greely.  If  the  vessels 
reached  Lady  Franklin  Bay  it  was  desirable  that  the  station 
there  should  be  kc])t  up  for  another  year.  It  was  further 
stated  that  "  it  is  most  desirable  that  the  officer  and  the  en- 
listed men  who  are  to  go  next  year  be  detailed  as  early  as 
practicable,  in  order  that  they  may  be  trained  and  have  v^xpe- 
lience  in  rowing  and  managing  boats,  and  in  the  use  of  boat 
conij[)a88e8 It  is  desirable  that  men  bo  selected  whoso 


'      ■ 


[  I 


The  Belief  Exjpedition  of  1883.— r/id  Proteus.     49 

service  has  been  in  the  northwest,  and  it  is  also  important 
that  the  entire  party,  before  going,  should  be  familiar  with 
boats  and  their  management  under  all  conditions." 

The  plan  was  returned  the  same  day  by  tlie  Secretary  with 
an  endorsement  stating  that  "it  seems  tliat  it  would  be  much 
more  desirable  to  endeavor  to  procure  from  the  Navy  the 
persons  who  are  needed  for  this  rel?-^*  party."  To  this  Gen- 
eral Ilazen  replied : 

"To  change  the  full  control  of  this  duty  now  would  be  swapping 
horses  while  crossing  the  stream,  and  when  in  tiie  middle  of  the  stream. 
To  manage  it  with  a  mixed  control,  or  even  with  mixed  arms  of  the  serv- 
ice under  a  single  control,  would  be  hazardous,  and  such  action  is  srongly 
advised  against  by  the  many  persons  of  both  Army  and  Navy  I  have  dis- 
cussed the  subject  with.  The  ready  knowledge  of  boats  and  instruments 
is  but  a  very  small  part  of  the  indispensable  requisites  in  this  case.  This 
whole  work  has  required  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  study  from  the 
first,  and  I  have  not  a  doubt  but  any  transfer  of  control  now  would  result 
in  failure  to  convey  all  the  threads  of  this  half  finished  work,  and  that  it 
would  work  disastrously  in  many  >,ays. 

"In  view  of  these  facts,  I  would  consider  the  transfer  now  of  any 
part  of  this  work  to  any  other  control  as  very  hazardous  and  without 
any  apparent  promise  of  advantage." 

In  accordance  with  General  Ilazcn's  plan,  orders  were  is- 
sued on  February  Otli  to  Ist  Lieutenant  Ernest  A.  Garling- 
ton  of  tlie  Tth  Cavalry,  then  at  his  post  at  Fort  Buford, 
Dakota  Territory,  who  had  volunteered  for  the  service  in 
December,  to  i)roceed  to  Washington,  and  take  command  of 
the  expedition.  Four  enlisted  men  who  had  volunteered 
wjro  also  ordered  from  Dakota.  Lieutenant  Gjirlington, 
who  had  served  with  his  regiment  contiimously  sintio  his 
gnidiiation  from  the  Military  Academy  in  lSt»J,  arrived  \\\ 
AVashington  on  February  2()th.  Soon  afterward  he  wan 
])laced  ill  charge  of  the  preparations  for  the  expedition,  ?H3- 


1  \      \ 


i 


50  The  HesGue  of  GreeVy. 

lieving  Captain  Clapp,  of  the  Signal  OflSce,  who  had  made  a 
special  study  of  Arctic  matters,  and  who  until  then  had 
superintended  the  arrangements.  From  this  time  until  his 
departure,  on  June  13th,  in  the  Tantic  from  New  York, 
Garlington  was  engaged  in  preparing  for  the  expedition. 

The  passage  of  the  appropriation  Act  on  March  3d,  com- 
pleted all  that  >Tas  necessary  to  enable  the  Signal  Office  to 
go  on  with  the  preparations.  The  Act  required  that  the 
work  at  the  stations  should  be  closed,  and  the  force  brought 
back  to  the  United  States.  Up  to  this  time  it  had  been  hoped 
to  keep  up  the  station  until  the  summer  of  1884,  as  stated  by 
the  Chief  Signal  Officer  in  his  letter  of  November  Ist,  to 
the  Secretary  of  "War ;  and  one  object  in  sending  out  the 
relief  expedition  had  been  to  inform  Lieutenant  Greely  of 
this  decision.  Otherwise  he  would  move  south  in  the  com- 
ing summer,  in  accordance  with  his  instructions.  Under  the 
law  of  March  3d,  however,  the  work  was  to  be  discontinued, 
and  therefore  one  object  of  sending  the  relief  vessel  through 
to  Lady  Franklin  Bay  had  ceased  to  exist.  There  remained 
the  other  object,  which  was  to  bring  back  the  party  with 
their  records  and  instruments ,  or,  if  Camp  Conger  should 
not  be  reached,  to  establish  the  supply  station  at  Lifeboat 
Cove.  The  second  was  really  the  essential  thing.  As  to 
reaching  Camp  Conger,  Greely  himself  did  not  seem  to  con- 
sider it  of  great  importance,  as  he  made  no  direct  reference 
to  it  in  his  letter  of  August  17th,  and  in  his  full  report, 
dated  two  days  earlier,  he  had  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  a  re- 
treat souLiiward  from  the  station  to  Cape  Sabine  would  bo 
"safe  and  practicable."  Every  arrangement  had  been  made 
for  Greely  to  go  to  this  point,  or  somewhere  near  it,  and  go 
he  would  to  a  certainty,  unless  an  accident  prevented  him  ; 


\     \ 


The  Belief  Ecj>editim  of  1883.— 77w  Proteus.     51 

and  he  was  not  likely  to  bring  with  him  any  considerable 
means  of  subsistence,  as  it  had  been  arranged  that  he  should 
find  a  depot  on  his  arrival. 

Work  upon  the  outfit  of  the  relief  expedition  had  already 
been  begun.  A  dwelling  and  storehouse  for  the  party  that 
was  to  winter  at  Littleton  Island  were  contracted  for  at  St. 
John's,  and  the  Navy  Department  was  called  on  for  two 
whale-boats,  a  dingy,  and  such  other  supplies  as  came  within 
its  province.  Arrangements  were  made  to  charter  the 
Proteus,  the  same  vessel  which  had  made  the  extraordinary 
trip  in  1881,  sul)ject  to  inspection,  and  in  the  latter  part  of 
May  General  Hazen,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
B.  H.  McCalla,  of  the  Navy,  proceeded  to  St.  John's,  and  ex- 
amined the  vessel.  McCalla  reported  her  as  fit  for  the 
purpose,  and  she  was  accordingly  engaged.  Captain  Pike, 
who  had  taken  her  up  in  1881,  was  again  to  command  her. 

Up  to,  or  nearly  up  to  this  time,  it  appears  to  have  been 
the  intention  to  employ  only  one  vessel  on  the  relief  expedi- 
tion. On  the  14th  of  May,  however,  request  was  made  by 
the  Chief  Signal  Officer  that  a  vessel  of  the  Navy  should  bo 
detailed  for  service  in  connection  with  the  expedition,  "  as 
escort,  to  bring  back  information,  render  assistance,  and  take 
such  other  steps  as  might  be  necessary  in  case  of  unforeseen 
emergencies."  It  was  added  that  the  vessel  need  not  enter 
the  ice-pack,  or  encounter  any  unusual  danger.  As  only 
about  four  weeks  were  given  for  preparation  for  this  very 
exceptional  service,  it  was  impossible  to  fit  out  a  vessel 
specially  for  the  purpose,  and  the  only  thing  that  could  be 
done  was  to  take  the  most  available  of  the  vessels  in  commis- 
eioii  on  the  North  Atlantic  Station.  The  Yantic,  com- 
manded by  Commander  Frank  Wildes,  which  was  then  at 


i 


62 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


'  ' 


■'i 


i  U: 


■'  I' 


Hampton  Roads,  was  selected,  and  after  her  arrival  at  Kew 
York  underwent  such  preparation  as  the  time  permitted. 
Her  battery  and  ammunition  were  removed,  to  allow  the 
stowage  of  additional  coal,  and  a  sheathing  of  oak  plank  was 
put  on,  2|^  inches  thick,  increasing  somewhat  at  the  bow,  and 
extending  down  from  the  water-line  a  distance  of  seven  feet. 
This  sheathing  was  not  calculated  to  resist  pressure  in  the  ice- 
pack, but  was  merely  to  prevent  the  sharp  ice  from  cutting 
the  ship's  sides.  She  was  in  no  sense  a  vessel  fitted  for  ice 
navigation,  nor,  as  was  stated  in  the  Chief  Signal  Officer's 
application,  was  such  navigation  con  :emplated.  In  order  to 
serve  any  useful  purpose  as  a  reserve  ship  or  tender,  it  was 
necessary  that  she  should  cross  Melville  Bay  and  put  in  at 
some  hiirbo?  in  Smith  Sound ;  but  in  most  seasons  this  can 
be  done  in  July  or  August  without  entering  the  pack.  Upon 
these  facts  the  sailing  orders  of  the  Yantie  were  based.     The 

orders  were  as  follows : 

Navy  Department, 

WaaJungton,  June  9,  1883. 

Sir  :  The  steam  sealer  Protetis,  Captain  Pike,  has  been  chartered  by 
the  Chief  Signal  OfTlcer  of  tlie  Army  to  proceed  to  Smith  Sound  and 
Kennedy  Channel  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  to  St.  John's,  N.  F,,  Lieu- 
tenant Greely,  U.  S.  A. ,  and  the  party  under  his  command  (about  twenty 
in  all,  who  have  been  stationed  at  Fort  Conger,  Lady  Fraiddin  Sound), 
for  the  past  two  yoars,  engaged  in  obtaining  meteorological  data  for  the 
use  of  the  U.  S.  Signal  Service.  Lieutenant  Qreely's  party  was  conveyed 
to  Fort  Conger  by  Captain  Pike,  in  the  Proteus,  during  the  summer  of 
1881  ;  and  last  summer  an  unsuccessful  effort  was  made  in  tlic  steam 
scaler  Neptune  to  communicate  with  the  above-mentioned  officer. 

Inclosed  herewith  for  your  information  are  copies  of  a  letter  from 
Lieutenant  Greely,  to  the  Chief  Signal  Officer,  written  after  the  arrival 
of  the  former  at  Fort  Conger:  "Work  of  the  Signal  Service  in  the 
Arctic  rcg'ons";  track  chart  of  the  siti'AXXiQV  Neptune  from  July  to  Sep- 
tember, 1883 ;  instructions  to  Lieutenant  Greely  ;  and  instructions  to 
Lieutenant  Garlington,  U.  S.  A.,  "commanding  relief  vessel  to  Lady 
Franklin  Bay." 


(  ^ 


I  ^  I 


il  at  New 
permitted, 
allow  the 
plank  was 
!  bow,  and 
even  feet, 
in  the  ice- 
m  cutting 
3d  for  ice 
I  Officer's 
n  order  to 
ler,  it  was 
put  in  at 
s  this  can 
;k.   Upon 
ed.    The 

T, 

9,  1883. 

artercd  by 
Sound  and 

F.,  Lieu- 
out  twenty 
in  Sound), 
itii  for  llio 
I  convoyed 
ummcr  of 
the  steam 
Icr. 

stter  from 
lie  arrival 
ce  in  tho 
ly  lo  Sop- 
U'tions  lo 

to  Lady 


The  Relief  ExpedH'on  of  1^%'6.—The  Proteus.      53 

An  examination  of  these  papers  will  acquaint  you  with  the  object  of 
the  relief  expedition  and  the  importance  of  its  success.  You  will,  there- 
fore, when  in  all  respects  in  readiness  for  sea,  proceed  with  the  vessel 
under  your  command  to  St.  John's,  Newfoundland. 

After  having  filled  up  with  coal  at  St.  John's,  proceed  to  the  north- 
ward, through  Davis  Straits,  in  company  with  tlio  steamer  Proteus,  if 
praciicablc  ;  but  before  leaving  that  port  you  will  confer  with  Lieutenant 
Garlingtou,  and  make  arrangements  which  will  enable  you  to  act  advan- 
tageously in  the  event  of  an  early  sei>aration  from  the  Proteus,  which 
ship,  being  fitted  for  cru'sing  in  the  ice,  will  probably  take  advantage  of 
opportunities  to  reach  her  destination  which  you  would  not  feel  author- 
ized in  .aking  in  the  Tanilc. 

In  vi  3W  of  the  possibility  of  the  destruction  of  the  Proteus,  it  is  desir- 
able tl'at  you  should  proceed  as  far  north  as  practicable  in  order  to  afford 
succor  to  her  oflScers  and  men  in  the  event  of  such  an  accident,  and  it  is 
desired  that  you  should  await  there  the  return  of  that  ship,  or  the  arrival 
of  authentic  information  as  to  her  fate. 

Under  no  circumstances,  however,  will  you  proceed  beyond  Littleton 
Island,  Smith  Sound,  and  you  are  not  to  enter  the  ice-pack,  nor  to  place 
your  ship  in  a  position  to  prevent  your  return  this  season.  You  will  take 
on  board  at  St.  John's  all  the  coal  that  you  can  safely  carry  below  and 
on  deck,  as  it  is  very  desirable  that  you  reach  your  destination  with  an 
ample  supply  still  remaining  for  use.  It  may  be  possible  to  obtain  a 
small  supply  of  coal  on  the  coast  of  Greenland,  but  this  can  not  be  relied 
upon. 

In  cruising  to  the  northward,  you  will  rely  to  a  certain  extent  upon 
the  ice  pilot,  and  upon  the  information  which  is  given  you  by  the  Danish 
authorities  at  Disko  and  Upernivik,  as  to  the  probable  movements  of  the 
ice  in  Smith  Sound,  based  upon  their  knowledge  of  the  prevailing  winds 
and  their  effects  upon  the  moving  ice. 

The  lengtli  of  your  stay  to  the  northward  of  Upernivik  must  depend 
upon  your  discretion,  and  should  you  find  it  imperative  to  leave  tho 
vicinity  of  Littleton  Island  or  Cape  York  before  the  return  of  the  Proteus, 
you  will  establish  a  station  on  shore  (having  previously,  in  consultation 
with  Lieutenant  Garlington,  settled  upon  prominent  points  on  the  coasts 
of  Smith  Sound  or  Bafllu  Bay  for  this  purpose),  iu  which  you  will  leave 
information  as  to  your  movements. 

In  issuing  the  instructions  for  your  cruise  the  details  must  be  left  to 
your  judgment,  and  the  Department  considers  it  only  necessary  to  call 
your  attention  to  the  desirability  of  cordially  co-operating  with  Lieutenant 
Garlington,  affording  him  all  the  assistance  iu  your  power. 


{ 


54 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Greely. 


:  !! 


t  " 


When  you  have  completed  this  duty  you  will  return  with  the  Tantio 
to  New  York. 

Very  respectfully, 

Ed.  T.  Nichols, 

Acting  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Commander  Frank  Wfld^ic,  TT.  S.  N., 

ComrrCiEg  U.  d.  8.  Tavtic.  New  T<yrk. 

Lieutenant  Garlington  had  been  ordered  to  New  York  on 
tlie  21st  of  May.  During  the  n^xt  two  weeks  he  was  super- 
intending the  collection  and  shipment  of  the  stores  for  the 
expedition.  These  consisted  of  supplies  for  forty  men  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  months.  They  were  to  go  by  the  Alhambra^ 
the  same  vessel  which  had  taken  Beebe's  stores  the  year  be- 
fore. Sergeant  Wall,  of  the  3d  Infantry,  a  member  of  the 
expedition,  was  detailed  to  go  with  them,  and  attend  to  their 
reshipment  and  stowage  in  the  Proteus.  The  nine  other 
members  of  the  party,  comprising  Lieutenant  Garlington,  Dr. 
John  S.  Harrison,  who  had  been  engaged  as  Acting  Assistant 
Surgeon,  one  sergeant,  one  corporal,  one  artificer,  and  four 
privates,  were  to  be  taken  to  St.  John's  in  the  Yantio.  The 
latter  vessel,  however,  was  not  to  sail  until  the  11th  of  June, 
and  as  the  Alhairibra  left  on  the  Ytli  a  considerable  time 
would  elapse  between  the  arrival  of  the  stores  and  that  of  the 
commander  of  the  expedition,  to  whom  it  was  all-important 
to  know  personally  the  disposition  of  every  article  on  board 
the  relief  vessel.  Impressed  by  these  facts,  Garlington  sent 
a  dispatch  to  Washington,  recommending  that  the  whole 
party,  including  himself,  should  sail  in  the  Alhambra. 

The  suggestion  was  not  approved,  and  the  original  pro- 
gramme was  adhered  to,  as  the  facilities  for  discipline  and 
care  of  the  men  would  be  superior  on  board  the  Yantic,  and 


r     ! 


•  • 


1  the  Tantie 


the  Navy. 


York  on 
fas  Buper- 
38  for  the 
nen  for  a 
Ihamhra^ 
!  year  be- 
3r  of  the 
1  to  their 
iiie  other 

ton,  Dr. 
Assistant 
and  four 
ic.  The 
of  June, 
ble  time 
at  of  the 
aportant 

n  board 

;on  sent 
whole 

2. 

nal  pro- 
ine  and 
tic^  and 


The  Belief  Expedition  of  1883.-7%^  Proteus.      55 

as  a  sergeant  had  been  detailed  to  go  with  the  stores.  The 
sero-eant,  however,  left  the  Alhamhra  at  Halifax,  owing,  as 
was  stated,  to  having  been  "  injured  by  an  accident."  There 
was,  therefore,  no  one  at  St.  John's  connected  with  the  expe- 
dition to  superintend  the  discharge  and  reshipnient  of  the 
stores.  When  Lieutenant  Garlington  arrived,  everything  that 
had  come  from  New  York  had  been  stowed  on  board  the 
Proteus,  and  no  one  knew  where  the  different  articles  were. 
To  get  at  the  meteorological  instruments,  a  large  part  of  the 
stores  had  to  be  broken  out.  The  guns  that  had  been  shipped 
could  never  be  found,  so  that  except  for  three  rifles,  a  shot- 
gun, and  two  pistols  which  different  members  of  the  party 
carried  with  them,  the  expedition  was  without  firearms. 

The  instructions  given  to  Garlington  by  the  Chief  Signal 
Officer  make  a  long  document,  but  in  the  sequel  so  much 
turned  upon  their  language,  that  it  is  necessary  to  nuote  them 
in  full.     The  paper  was  as  follows : 

War  Depaktment, 
Office  of  the  Chief  Signal  Officer, 

Washington  City,  June  4,  1883. 
Lieut.  E.  A.  GARLiNaxoN, 

Commanding  relief  vessel  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay : 

Sir  :  You  are  aware  of  the  necessity  of  reaching  Lieutenant  A.  W. 
Greely  and  his  party  with  the  expedition  of  this  year.  This  necessity 
can  not  be  overestimated,  as  Lieutenant  Greely's  supplies  will  be  exhausted 
during  the  coming  fall,  and  unless  the  relief  ship  can  reach  him  he  will 
be  forced,  with  his  party,  to  retreat  southward  by  land  before  the  winter 
sets  in. 

Such  a  retreat  will  involve  hardship  and  the  probable  abandonment  of 
much  valuable  public  property,  with  possible  loss  of  important  records 
and  life. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  which  will  occur  to  you  no  effort  must  be 
spared  to  push  the  vessel  through  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay. 

In  the  event  of  being  obstructed  by  ice  in  Smith  Sound  or  Ken- 
nedy Channel,  you  arc  advised  to  try  to  find  a  passage  through  along 


nil 

■if 

j.| 

I   '! 

< 

H 

'  *  1 

!   ^1 


a  ;      ! 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


the  west  coast,  which,  beside  being  usually  the  most  practicable,  will 
afford  better  advantages  for  sighting  and  communicating  with  any  party 
sent  out  by  Lieutenant  Greely.  To  make  communication  surer,  your 
party  must  be  able  to  readily  send  and  receive  messages  by  flag  or  helio- 
graph, and  other  means,  and  the  necessary  articles  should  be  kept  in 
readiness  for  instant  use  when  communication  is  possible. 

Should  the  vessel  be  unable  to  get  through  the  ice  to  Lady  Franklin 
Bay  or  to  reach  the  west  coast  at  poir  ts  above  Cape  Sabine,  it  will  be  of 
great  importance  that  Lieutenant  Gr  jely  should  know  of  the  efl!orts  being 
made  to  relieve  him  and  of  the  plans  for  doing  so.  You  will  endeavor, 
therefore,  to  convey  such  intelligence  and  omit  no  means  of  informing 
him  or  any  of  his  party  of  the  situation.  Should  any  landings  be  made 
at  prominent  points  on  either  coast  during  the  efforts  to  get  through  the 
ice,  you  will  leave  a  short  record  of  the  facts,  with  such  information  as 
it  is  desirable  to  convey,  so  deposited  and  marked  as  to  render  it  discov- 
erable by  parties  travelling  southward.  If  such  landings  be  made  at 
points  where  caches  of  provisions  are  located,  you  will,  if  possible,  ex- 
amine them  and  replace  any  damaged  articles  of  food,  leaving,  of  course, 
a  record  of  your  action. 

If  it  should  become  clearly  apparent  that  the  vessel  can  not  be  pushed 
through,  you  will  retreat  from  your  advanced  position  and  land  your  party 
and  stores  at  or  near  Lifeboat  Cove,  discharge  the  relief  vessel,  with 
orders  to  return  to  St.  John's,  N.  F.,  and  prepare  for  remaining  with  your 
party  until  relieved  next  year.  As  soon  as  possible  after  landing,  or  in  case 
your  vessel  becomes  unavoidably  frozen  up  in  the  ice-pack,  you  will  en- 
deavor to  communicate  with  Lieutenant  Greely  by  taking  personal  charge 
of  a  party  of  the  most  experienced  and  hardy  men,  equipped  for  sledg- 
ing, carrying  such  stores  as  is  practicable  to  Cape  Sabine,  whence  a 
smaller  parly,  more  lightly  equipped,  still  headed  by  yourself,  will  push 
as  far  north  as  possible,  or  until  Lieutenant  Greely's  party  is  met.  In 
this  and  other  matters  you  will  follow  closely  the  instructions  of  Lieu- 
tenant  Greely,  dated  August  17,  1881,  a  printed  copy  of  which  is  fur- 
nished you  herewith.     (Enclosure  "  1.") 

The  men  not  employed  in  these  expeditions  will  lose  no  time  in  pre- 
paring the  house  for  the  whole  party,  and  in  securing  the  stores  prepara- 
tory to  the  arrival  of  Lieutenant  Greely. 

You  will  be  furnished  two  observers  and  an  outfit  of  scientific  appa- 
ratus, and  will  be  guided  in  their  use  by  instructions  herewith.  The 
character  and  amount  of  the  meteorological  and  other  scientific  work  to 
be  accomplished  by  your  party  is  enumerated  in  enclosed  memoranda 
marked  B,  C,  D,  E. 


bl 

1>| 
ill 


:■     -11 


ticable,  will 
th  any  party- 
surer,  your 
lag  or  helio- 
bc  kept  iu 

3y  Franklin 
t  will  be  of 
sfforts  being 
II  endeavor, 
informing 
gs  be  made 
lirough  the 
)rmation  as 
!r  it  discov- 
)e  made  at 
ossible,  ex- 
,  of  course, 

be  pushed 

your  party 

esscl,  with 

with  your 

or  in  case 

IU  will  en- 

nal  charge 

for  sledg- 

whence  a 

will  push 

met.     In 

of  Lieu. 

:h  is  fur- 

le  in  prc- 
prepara- 

flc  appa- 
h.  The 
work  to 
uoranda 


The  Relief  Expedition  of  1883.— 77i^  Proteus.     57 

In  addition  to  the  medical  officer,  enlisted  men  taken  from  this  city, 
you  will  employ  three  hardy  ice-men  at  St.  John's  who  have  been  already 
selected  by  the  U.  S.  consul  there  under  my  direction,  and  iu  Greenland 
such  Esquimaux  as  you  may  require. 

It  is  important  that  *  careful  and  complete  record  of  events  should  be 
made,  and  in  case  your  party  does  not  return  this  year  that  a  full  report 
be  sent  by  the  vessel  on  her  return  to  St.  John's.  Each  member  of  your 
party  will  be  required  to  keep  a  private  diary,  which  will  be  open  to  the 
inspection  of  the  Chief  Signal  Oflicer  only  in  case  it  should  be  necessary. 
Whenever  a  junction  is  effected  with  Lieutenant  Grecly  you  will  report 
to  him  with  your  party  for  duty. 

Should  any  important  records  or  instruments  have  been  left  behind 
by  Lieutenant  Greely  in  his  retreat,  they  may  be  recovered  by  the 
steamer  to  be  sent  in  1884. 

It  is  believed  that  with  the  stores  and  supplies  sent  last  year,  which  are 
at  St.  John's,  N.  F.,  and  at  the  Greenland  ports,  a  list  of  which  is  here- 
with furnished  (enclosure  "  3  "),  and  which  you  will  gather  on  your  way 
northward,  together  with  the  provisions  and  articles  supplied  this  year, 
everything  needful  will  have  been  furnished  for  safety  and  success.  I 
believe  and  expect  that  you  will  zealously  endeavor  to  effect  the  object 
of  the  expedition,  which  is  to  succeed  in  relieving  your  comrades,  since 
upon  your  efforts  their  lives  may  depend,  and  you  can  not  overestimate 
the  gravity  of  the  work  entrusted  to  your  charge. 

A  ship  of  the  United  States  Navy,  the  Yantic,  will  accompany  you  as 
far  as  Littleton  Island,  rendering  you  such  aid  as  may  become  necessary 
and  as  may  be  determined  by  the  captain  of  that  ship  and  yourself,  when 
on  the  spot. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  your  success  and  the  safe  return  of  the  united 
party,  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  B.  IIazen, 
Brig,  and  Bvt.  Maj.  Qen'l,  Chief  Signal  Officer,  U.  S.  A. 

In  the  envelope  with  tliese  instructions  were  several  enclos- 
ures. Enclosure  1  was  Greely's  famous  letter  of  August  ITtli 
from  Fort  Conger,  which  was  of  paramount  importance  as  a 
guide  to  the  relief  party,  taken  in  connection  with  such 
other  instructions  as  prudence  might  dictate  after  the  light  of 
the  second  year's  experience.  Enclosure  2  was  composed  of 
the  memoranda  containing  directions  for  scientific  observa- 


t 


i 


i 


68 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


tions.  Enclosure  3  was  a  list  of  stores  designated  as  being  "  at 
St.  John's  or  caclied."  Enclosure  4,  not,  however,  referred  to 
in  any  way  in  the  body  of  the  instructions,  was  a  copy  of  the 
agreement  for  the  use  of  the  steamer  Proteus. 

There  was  also  in  the  envelope  another  paper  or  memo- 
randum, not  signed  or  dated,  containing  apparently  a  pro- 
posed scheme  of  operations  for  the  Proteus  and  Yantic^ 
which  was  in  some  essential  points  in  conflict  with  the  in- 
structions.    Tills  paper  read  as  follows : 


\\\ 


"  The  naval  tender  to  join  the  Proteus  at  St.  John's,  N.  F.,  and  to  pro- 
ceed with  her  to  the  neighborhood  of  Liftleton  Island. 

"  The  Proteus  to  land  her  stores,  except  supplies  for  more  northerly  de- 
pots, at  Littleton  Island,  on  her  way  north.  If  she  succeeds  in  reaching 
Lady  Franklin  Bay,  to  pick  up  tlie  stores,  excepting  the  house  and  de- 
pots, if  possible,  on  her  return.  The  naval  tender  will  await  tlie  return 
of  the  Proteus  at  the  neighborhood  of  Littleton  Island,  and,  ou  her  re- 
turn, stoara  to  the  south  in  her  company,  until  she  reaches  the  southern 
limits  of  the  ice-pack,  when  the  vessels  may  sep;'.mte.  Should  the  Pro- 
teus be  crusht  1  in  the  ice,  her  crew  will  retire  on  Littleton  Island,  and 
the  tender  will  bring  to  St.  John's,  N.  F.,  the  oflicers  and  crow  of  the 
Proteus.  The  rest  of  the  party  to  remain  at  Littleton  Island.  But  should 
the  ice  render  it  dangerous  for  the  tender  to  remain  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Littleton  Island,  until  the  Proteus  returns  or  her  crew  and  the  expedi- 
tionary force  succeed  in  reaching  there,  the  tender  may  go  to  the  south, 
leaving  full  particulars  at  Littleton  Island. 

"  Signals  by  Hags,  heliograph,  and  guns  should  bo  preconcerted,  and 
communication  by  this  means  should  be  maintained  between  the  two 
vessels  as  long  as  possible  after  they  are  separated  by  the  passage  north 
of  the  Proteus. 

"Nothing  in  the  northward  movement  must  be  allowed  to  retard  tho 
progress  of  the  Proteus,  It  is  of  the  utmost  imporlaneo  that  she  take 
advantage  of  every  lead  to  get  up  to  Latly  Franklin  Bay." 


The  first  point  to  bo  noted  in  tho  main  instructions  is  that 
Greely 's  supplies  would  be  exhausted  in  tho  fall,  and  that  no 
ellort  must  bo  spared  to  reach  Lady  l^'nvnklin  Uay.     In  thia 


being  "at 
eferred  to 
opy  of  the 

or  memo- 
tly  a  pro- 
l  Yantioj 
th  the  in- 


ane! to  pro- 

3rtherly  de- 
in  reaching 
use  and  dc- 
t  tlie  return 
,  OL  her  rc- 
10  pouthcrn 
Id  the  Pro- 
island,  and 
row  of  the 
ut  should 
hborhood 
le  expcdi- 
tho  south, 

rted.  and 
the  two 
liigo  north 

retard  tho 
t  Hho  take 


^<  is  tlmt 
tliat  no 
III  thiB 


The  Relief  Expedltmi  of  1883.— 7%^  Proteus.     59 

statement  it  must  have  been  assumed  that  from  some  unex- 
plained cause  a  very  large  part  of  the  stores  had  been  spoilt 
or  destroyed  during  the  two  years,  for  it  was  afterward  stated 
by  the  Greely  Relief  Board  that  the  force  was  furnished  with 
subsistence  stores — the  components  of  the  army  ration  or 
their  e<iuivalents — for  three  years.  Of  beans,  coffee,  sugar, 
and  salt,  it  had  a  supply  for  four  years  and  a  half,  and  there 
was  in  addition  a  very  extensive  assortment  of  canned  fruits, 
vegetables,  butter,  and  other  articles  which  would  probably 
be  equal  to  another  year's  supply  of  food  for  the  party.  It 
was  known  that  all  these  stores  had  been  safely  landed,  ex- 
cept the  225  rations  at  Carl  Hitter  Bay,  and  also  that  before 
the  Proteus  left,  Greely  had  succeeded  in  collecting  three 
months'  full  rations  of  nmsk  cattle.  For  fuel  there  had 
been  landed  140  tons  of  coal,  and  the  coal-seam  near  by  fur- 
nished an  unlimited  supply.  In  fact,  if  no  relief  expedition 
had  started,  and  if  no  orders  to  .abandon  the  station  had  been 
given,  the  party  could  readily  have  remained  at  Fort  Conger 
another  year — housed,  clothed,  warmed,  and  fed  without  se- 
rious inconvenience. 

Tho  second  point  of  importance  in  tho  instructions  was, 
th&t  if  any  landings  were  made  at  prominent  points  on  the 
way  up  where  there  were  depots  of  provisions,  Garlington 
should  if  possible  examine  them  and  replace  any  damaged 
articles  of  food.  Those  points  were  now  seven  in  nund)er — 
Ciuy  Islands,  Cape  Isabella,  Littleton  Island,  ( ^ape  Sabine 
(two  depots),  Capo  Hawks,  Cape  Colli nson,  and  Carl  Kitter 
Bay.  Thirdly,  if  the  vessel  could  not  get  tlirough,  the  party 
and  stores  should  be  landed  at  Lifeboat  Cove,  the  vessel  should 
bo  sent  back,  and  the  jKirty  should  renuiin ;  fourth,  the  in- 
structions of  Lieutenant  Greely  were  to  be  closely  followed; 


I 


I- 


^1 


60 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


and  finally,  the  Yantio  would  accompany  the  Proteus  as  far 
as  Littleton  Island,  rendering  such  aid  as  might  become 
necessary,  and  as  should  be  determined  by  her  captain  ant^ 
Garlington  on  the  spot.  No  provision  was  made  for  the  con- 
tingency of  the  loss  of  the  Proteus. 

The  unsigned  memorandum,  on  the  other  hand,  laid  out  a 
quite  different  plan  for  the  expedition.  First  and  foremost, 
it  directed  that  the  Proteus  should  land  her  stores,  except 
supplies  for  the  more  northerly  depots,  at  Littleton  Island, 
on  the  way  north.  This  was  clearly  not  in  harmony  with 
the  orders,  which  said  nothing  about  landing  stores  on  the 
way  up,  except  in  replacing  damaged  supplies  at  dejwts  al- 
ready established,  "  should  any  landings  be  made  at  promi- 
nent points,"  and  which,  by  dwelling  at  the  same  time  upon 
the  necessity  of  pushing  tlirougli  to  Lad}  Franklin  Bay,  vir- 
tually prohibited  any  action  that  might  obstruct  this  result, 
unless  it  was  elsewhere  expressly  directed.  The  mcmoran- 
dun:,  having  provided  for  the  landing  of  the  stores,  also  pro- 
scribed a  plan  of  action  in  case  of  the  loss  of  the  vessel.  In 
that  event  the  crew  was  to  retire  on  Littleton  Island,  and  the 
relief  party  was  to  remain  there  with  the  stores  which  it  had 
previously  landed.  The  movements  of  the  naval  tender  were 
also  carefully  laid  out  in  the  memorandum.  Siie  was  to  join 
the  Proteus  at  St.  John's  and  proceed  with  her  to  Littleton 
Island.  Hero  she  was  to  await  the  return  of  the  Proteus^ 
after  which  she  was  to  steam  to  the  south  in  her  company  to 
the  southern  limits  of  the  ic'e-])ack,  at  which  point  the  vossels 
might  sepaitite — and,  infcrentially,  they  were  not  to  separate 
until  this  point  was  reached,  except  while  the  Proteus  waa 
north  of  Littleton  Island.  If  the  7V(>^'f^9  was  crushod  the 
tender  wub  to  bring  back  her  crow.      The  niemuranduui 


'  I 


I   I 


'US  as  far 
;  become 
>tain  ant^ 
!•  the  con- 
aid  out  a 
■oremost, 
a,  except 
n  Island, 
my  with 
38  on  the 
lepots  al- 
t  proini- 
no  upon 
Bay,  vir- 
18  result, 
enioran- 
ilso  pro- 
pel.    In 
and  the 
it  had 
or  wore 
to  join 
ttloton 

'liny  to 
voshcIb 
)arate 
Its  \vm 
(>(1  the 
induni 


T/ie  Belief  Expedition  of  IS^^.—The  Proteus.      61 

ended  with  tlie  somewhat  vague  statement  that  nothing  in 
the  northward  movement  must  be  allowed  to  retard  the  prog- 
ress of  the  Proteus^  which  can  only  be  interpreted  to  mean 
nothing  except  such  causes  of  delay  as  were  specified  in  the 
niernorandum.  These  specified  causes  of  delay  were  two — 
first,  the  injunction  to  land  stores  at  Littleton  Island,  which 
was  only  a  slight  delay ;  and  secondly,  the  injunction  to  remain 
in  the  company  of  the  Yantic,  which  would  be  a  serious 
cause  of  obstruction,  as  the  Yantio  was  a  considerably 
slower  vessel. 

It  subsequently  appeared  that  the  memorandum  was  drawn 
up  by  Lieutenant  Caziarc,  of  the  Signal  OlRce,  upon  his  own 
views  of  the  necessities  of  the  case,  at  the  order  of  the 
Acting  Chief  Signal  Officer,  during  the  absence  of  General 
ILizen  at  St.  John's,  and  in  consequence  of  a  request 
from  the  Secretary  of  the  Kavy  that  the  Signal  Oflico 
should  indicate  what  it  wanted  the  tender  to  do.  A  copy  of 
the  memorandum  was  sent  to  the  Navy  Department,  by 
whom  or  through  whom  could  never  be  ascertained,  but  not 
through  the  reu;ular  official  channels.  Here  it  was  seen  at 
one  time  by  an  officer  in  the  Department,  the  copy  being 
headed  " Memoranda,"  or  "instructions  for  naval  tender," 
but  it  subsequently  disappeared,  and  could  not  be  traced. 

An  unsigned  copy  of  the  memorandum  was  also,  through 
misunderHtandlng  or  iiuidvcrtencc,  put  in  the  envelope  con- 
taining (Jarlljigton's  instructions.  Upon  reading  it  Oarling- 
ton  immediately  went  to  the  Chief  Signal  Officer,  ami 
])()inl('d  out  the  contradictions  betwoon  the  main  instructions 
and  t'le  imsigned  memorandum.  In  the  conversation  that 
ensued,  he  was  verbally  informed  bythe(niief  Signal  Ollicer 
that  ho  was  to  follow  the  main  instructions  and  Grcely's  letter, 


m 


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62 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


1,^/ 


i''! 


and  that  the  memorandum  "  was  no  part  of  his  orders  ";  and 
this  direction  appears  to  liave  had  reference  to  the  landing  of 
stores  on  the  way  np.  This  was,  in  its  consequences,  by  far 
tlie  most  momentous  decision  made  in  connection  with  the 
expedition,  up  to  the  time  of  its  arrival  in  Smith  Sound. 

The  YantiG  sailed  from  New  York  June  13th,  caiTying 
Garlington,  the  Surgeon,  and  the  enlisted  men,  and  arrived 
at  St.  John's  June  2l8t.  Upon  learning  that  Wall,  the 
Sergeant  who  had  been  sent  in  the  Alhanibra,  had  left  the 
vessel  at  Halifax,  Lieutenant  Garlington  telegraphed  a  re- 
quest that  Lieutenant  J.  C.  Col  well,  of  the  Navy,  an  officer  of 
the  YantiG,  who  had  volunteered,  should  be  detailed  to  ac- 
company the  expedition.  The  request  was  comi^lied  with 
immediately,  and,  as  subsequent  events  showed,  it  was  a  most 
fortunate  circumstance  that  this  addition  was  made  to  the 
party.  A  further  addition  of  three  men  from  St.  John's 
brought  up  the  total  number  of  the  force  to  thirteen  persons 
Two  Eskimo  were  subsequently  added. 

Lieut.  Colwell's  telegraphic  orders  were  to  report  to  Lieut. 
Garlington  for  duty,  as  a  member  of  his  party.  Garlington, 
on  the  voyage  up,  assigned  to  him  the  duty  of  taking  charge 
of  the  magnetic  and  meteorological  work  required  by  the 
Signal  Office  at  the  proposed  station  at  Littleton  Island,  and 
also  that  of  accompanying  the  sledging  party  that  was  to 
l)r()cced  north  during  the  winter.  No  duties  were  given  him 
in  connection  with  the  navigation  of  the  vessel,  or  the  dis- 
position of  the  stores,  nor  had  ho  any  authoriliy  in  referenco 
to  those  matters.  During  the  vi>yago  of  the  Proteus,  im- 
til  a  short  time  before  the  wreck,  Colwell  was  sim^)ly  a  pas- 
senger. 

At  St.  John's  Commander  Wildes  and  Lieutenant  Gar- 


The  Relief  Expedition  of  1883.— 7%^  Proteus.      63 

lino-ton  entered  into  an  aorreemeni  as  to  the  movements  of 
the  two  vessels.    This  agreement  was  as  follows  : 

MEMOllANDUM  OF  AN  AGREEMENT  BETWEEN  LIEUT.   OAllLINGTON    AND 

COMMANDER  WILDES. 

Tanilc  to  proceed  to  sea  with  the  Proteus,  and  remain  in  company  as 
long  as  possible.  Yaniio  will  proceed  to  Disko  under  sail,  "will  leave 
letters  for  Lieut.  Qarlington  at  Disko  and  Upernivik. 

Cairns  enclosing  bottles  or  tins  will  be  left  at  Cape  York,  S.  E.  Cary 
Island  or  Ilakluyt  Island,  Pandora  Harbor,  and  Littleton  Island.  Yantio 
will  remain  in  Pandora  Harbor  not  later  than  August  25t)i,  Disko  not 
later  than  September  20th. 

Lieutenant  Garlington  to  leave  letters  in  Disko  and  Upernivik,  and  rec- 
ords on  Southeast  Cary  Island,  or  Ilakluyt  Island,  Littleton  Island,  and 
Pandora  Harbor  if  entered. 

Proteus  to  endeavor  to  communicate  with  Yantio  at  Pandora  Harbor 
before  August  25th. 

Should  Proteus  be  lost,  push  a  boat  or  party  south  to  Yantio. 

Pandora  Harbor  will  be  headquarters,  but  before  departure  Yantic  will 
run  u    ;o  Littleton  Island. 

In  reference  to  this  agreement,  and  to  the  circumstances 
that  followed,  it  must  be  remembered  that  tlie  Yantio  was 
not,  hi  a  military  sense,  a  part  of  the  relief  expedition.  That 
expedition  consisted  of  fifteen  persons,  of  whom  Lieutenant 
Colwell  was  one,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Garling- 
ton, who  were  to  be  transported  to  their  destination  in  a 
chartered  vessel.  Had  the  relief  party  and  tlio  Yantio  form- 
ed a  single  expedition,  they  would  liavo  been  under  a  single 
cornmand — in  tliis  case,  necessarily,  that  of  Commander 
Wildes.  The  Signal  Otlico  had  not,  however,  ex})ressed  a 
desire  to  constitute  the  expedition  on  such  a  basis,  and  the 
Navy  Department  acted  in  accordance  with  its  wlKho^. 
'i'here  wore,  therefore,  two  independcMit  commands.  Com- 
mander Wildes  was  to  co-operate  cordially  with  Lieutenant 
Garlington,  alTo  ding  tho  latter  all   tho    assistance    in    his 


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The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


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power.  He  was  not,  liowever,  to  assiimo  any  direction  of 
the  expedition.  His  sLip  was  to  be  employed  as  a  tender,  or 
rather  as  a  transport  upon  which  to  fall  back  in  case  of  dis- 
aster, and  in  which  the  crew  of  the  Proteus  might  be  taken 
liome.  Even  in  reference  to  a  supply  of  provisions,  when 
inquiry  had  been  made  of  the  Signal  Office  whether  the 
YantiG  should  take  any  beside  those  for  her  crew,  a  negative 
answer  was  given.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  her  connec- 
tion with  the  relief  of  Greely,  the  object  of  the  expedition, 
was  entirely  a  secondary  and  subsidiary  connection,  to  be 
effected  through  the  medium  of  Garlington,  in  whom  the 
primary  authority  and  the  primary  responsibility  were 
vested. 

It  may  be  objc^ied  that  this  would  be  a  narrow  view  for 
Commander  Wildes  to  take  of  his  duties.  But  it  musi  bo 
remembered  that  the  present  statement  is  not  made  by  Com- 
mander Wildes,  but  by  the  authors  of  this  book.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly a  purely  technical  view;  but  in  determining  a 
question  between  jDrimary  and  secondary  responsibility,  a  dif- 
ference as  essential  as  that  between  principals  and  accessories, 
it  is  necessary  to  start  with  a  technical  view.  Had  the  relief 
party  been  lost,  it  would  clearly  have  been  AVildes'  duty,  in 
a  technical  sense  as  well  as  in  every  other  sense,  to  take  the 
same  steps  to  rescue  Greely  that  ho  would  have  taken  had  he 
been  originally  sent  on  that  mission  alone ;  but  as  long  as  the 
members  of  tho  relief  expedition  remained  alive  and  well  in 
the  Greenland  waters,  and  in  a  condition  to  effect  their  object, 
although  it  was  Wildes'  duty  to  afford  them  every  succor  and 
assistance,  the  primary  responsibility  of  measures  for  Greely's 
rescue  rested  not  upon  him,  but  upon  thom.  If  the  relief 
i:arty  had  become  palpably  demoralized,  and  had  lost  their 


when 


The  Relief  Expedition  of  1883.— T/^^  Proteus.      65 

heads,  the  commander  even  of  a  tender  would  doubtless  have 
])cen  right  in  taking  the  enterprise  in  his  own  hands ;  but 
Wildes  was  bound  to  assume  until  he  had  evidence  to  the 
conti'ary,  that  they  had  the  capacity  to  discover  and  the  in- 
tention to  adopt  the  right  methods  to  accomplish  the  end  in 
view.  A  failure  to  execute  orders  is  one  thing,  but  a  failure 
to  exercise  an  independent  discretion  outside  of  and^beyond 
orders, — in  some  ways,  perhaps,  contrary  to  orders, — to  re- 
trieve the  failures  of  others,  is  a  very  different  thing. 

Another  fact  to  be  remembered  in  reference  to  the  sepa- 
ration of  the  Proteus  and  Yantio  is  that  in  two  essential , 
points — capacity  for  ice  navigation  and  motive  power — they 
were  very  different  vessels.  The  Proteus  was  built  to  cope 
with  the  ice,  while  the  Yantio  was  no  more  fitted  for  such 
work  than  any  other  ship  taken  at  haphazard.  As  to  their 
coal  capacity  the  Proteus  carried  between  500  and  GOO  tons, 
and  the  Yantio  barely  200  below  and  on  deck,  while  at  full 
speed  she  consumed  much  more  than  the  sealer.  The 
Proteus  made  8  J  to  9  knots,  while  the  Yantio  made  only  1. 

Garlington  could  therefore  remain  in  company  with  the 
Yantio,  but  the  Yantio  could  not  by  any  possibility  remain 
in  his  company  unless  he  chose  to  have  her.  Commander 
Wildes  had  no  control  or  supervision  over  Garlingtou's  move- 
ments, and  if  ho  saw  fit  to  separate  himself  from  Wildes,  the 
latter  had  no  right  to  detain  him  or  even  to  make  an  objec- 
tion. The  agreement  said  the  two  vessels  should  proceed  to  sea 
and  remain  in  company  as  long  as  possible.  They  proceeded 
to  sea,  and  the  Proteus  steamed  right  away  from  the  Yantio, 
It  is  only  fair  to  Lieutenant  Garlington  to  add  that  she  could 
not  very  well  have  done  otherwise,  if  she  was  to  reach  Lady 
Franklin  13i]y  and  reUirn  that  summer. 
C 


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66 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


r 


w  ■     w 


The  day  of  departure  from  St.  John's  was  the  29th  of 
June.  Soon  after  the  separation  the  Yantic,  running  a  Ht- 
tle  to  the  eastward  to  avoid  the  Labrador  ice,  liauled  her  tires 
and  proceeded  under  sail,  while  the  Proteus^  taking  a  direct 
northerly'  course  and  steaming  all  the  way,  arrived  at  God- 
havrs  July  6th.  Here  she  remained  for  several  days  awaiting 
the  arrival  of  the  ^nsroct  )r,  from  whom  she  was  to  obtain  skin 
clothing  and  Esk  do  ;  drivers.  The  interval  was  occupied 
in  an  attempt  to  di.  .wer  i<»i''sing  articles  of  cargo,  filling  the 
coal  bunkers,  and  arranging  the  stores  for  the  proposed  de- 
pots. Tiie  Yantio  came  in  on  the  12th.  On  the  same  day 
the  In  spGctor  arrived,  and  arrangements  were  made  as  far  as 
possible  <'^or  what  was  required.  As  the  Yantic  required  a 
week  i!-  port  to  repair  her  boilers  and  take  coal  on  board,  the 
Protev,  after  a  further  delay  from  bad  weather,  left  God 
havn  jii  th3  IGth,  and,  after  stopping  at  Disko  Fiord  for  a 
second  Fwlvinio,  ^jroeeeded  alone  +o  Smith  Sound. 

The  Proteus  found  plenty  of  ice  in  Melville  Bay,  but  it 
was  mostly  rotten  and  thin,  and,  on  the  whole,  she  had  a  fair 
passage.  When  two  days  out  from  Disko  Fiord,  on  the  19th, 
she  was  stopped  for  the  first  time  by  the  pack,  and  worked 
back  to  the  eastward,  occasionally  approaching  the  land  in  the 
bight  of  the  bay.  According  to  Garlington's  report,  the  cap- 
tain of  the  Proteus  had  made  a  considerable  error  in  his  po- 
sition, and  it  appears  from  lier  track  on  the  chart  that  she 
nmst  at  one  time  at  least  have  been  heading  directly  into  the 
land  ice.  It  is  therefore  not  to  bo  wondered  at  that  she  found 
tlie  pack  impenetrable  in  that  direction.  Turning  again  to 
the  southward  and  afterward  to  the  westward,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  20th  she  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  York, 
and  again  heading  for  the  land  when  the  ice  stopped  her. 


Re| 

the 

an'l 

icall 

on 

Isk 


The  Relief  ExpedUi(m  of  1883.— 7%^  Proteus.      67 

Retracing  her  course  once  more,  she  made  twenty  miles  to 
the  south,  and,  continuing  on  to  the  westward  through  loose 
and  rotten  ice,  she  succeeded  in  rounding  Cape  York.  Con. 
ical  Reck  and  Saunders  Island  were  passed  on  the  21st,  and 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  a  landing  was  made  at  Cary 
Island. 

Garlington  made  an  examination  of  the  Nares  cache  of 
1,800  rations  on  Southeast  Cary  Island  and  found  the  boat 
sound  and  sixty  per  cent  of  the  rations  in  good  condition. 
A  record  for  Commander  Wildes  was  placed  in  the  <  -.♦h'^- 
Leaving  the  island  after  a  stay  of  four  hours,  he  stea'ned  ., 
Pandora  Harbor,  where  he  left  a  record  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  22d.  The  weather  was  fine  and  no  ice  was  'o  be 
seen,  and  it  was  determined  to  push  on  at  once  w^it^  out  stop- 
ping, with  a  view  to  making  the  first  cache  at  Cape  r*rescott. 
Littleton  Island  was  passed  a  little  before  ten  o'clock,  and 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  later  the  ice-pack  was  sighted.  At 
half -past  eleven  the  ship  had  come  up  with  it,  and  it  presented 
an  unbroken  front.  Garlington  thereupon  decided  to  go  to 
Cape  Sabine  "to  examine  cache  there,  leave  records,  and 
await  further  developments."  At  half -past  three  the  Proteus 
came  to  anchor  at  Payer  Harbor. 

She  remained  at  her  anchorage  from  3.30  to  8  p.m.  This 
stay  of  four  hours  and  a  half  at  Cape  Sabine  was  a  turning- 
point  in  the  history  of  the  relief  expedition.  It  was  made 
up  of  golden  moments.  It  is  true  that  no  one  could  predict 
that  by  that  time  next  day  the  Proteus  would  be  at  the  bot- 
tom of  l\ane  Sea.  It  is  also  true  that  Garlington's  instruc- 
t  ons  had  been  ofticially  construed  as  not  including  the  for- 
mation of  depots  on  the  way  north,  and  that  the  importance 
of  reaching  Lady  Franklin  Bay  had  been  impressed  upon 


m. 


A 


08 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


\\  V 


'J 


1  ( 


his  mind  as  the  main  purpose  of  his  enterprise.  At  the 
same  time,  it  was  known  with  tolerable  certainty  that  two 
months  later  Greely  would  be  at  that  point,  if  he  carried  out 
his  Intentions ;  and  the  commander  of  the  relief  expedition, 
although  not  expressly  directed  to  land  anywhere,  had  been 
instructed  that  if  landings  should  be  made  at  points  w  here 
caches  of  provisions  were  located,  he  was,  if  possible,  to  ex- 
amine them,  and  replace  any  damaged  articles  of  food. 

lN"ow  there  were  two  caches  at  or  near  Cape  Sabine.  One 
of  them,  left  by  Beebe  the  year  before,  was  around  the  point 
of  the  cape.  The  other,  left  by  Nares  in  1875,  was  on 
Stalknecht  Island,  a  long,  low  rock  in  the  harbor  itself,  due 
west  from  Brevoort  Island,  and  close  to  it.  The  position  of 
this  cache  was  well  known.  Beebe  had  visited  it  in  1882, 
and  had  made  a  report  of  its  condition,  as  stated  in  the  last 
chapter.  The  Proteus  was  now  at  Payer  Harbor,  probably 
within  half  a  mile  of  Stalknecht  Island ;  and  on  board  the 
vessel  were  the  four  depots  of  provisions,  of  250  rations 
each,  that  had  been  arranged  at  Disko  to  be  in  readiness  for 
landing,  at  some  time  and  at  some  place. 

The  first  thing  done  at  Payer  Harbor  was  to  land  two 
privates  of  the  expedition  with  magnetic  and  other  instru- 
ments to  get  a  set  of  observations.  Garlington,  with  a  party 
of  his  men  in  one  of  the  ship's  boats,  then  went  to  search 
for  the  cache  left  at  the  Cape  by  Beebe.  It  was  found  after 
some  difficulty.  The  tripod  with  its  flag  which  marked  the 
cairn  had  fallen  down,  and  the  tari^aulin  which  covered  a 
part  of  the  stores  had  been  pulled  up.  Everything  else  was 
in  good  condition  except  the  boat,  which  bore  marks  of  the 
claws  of  bears,  and  from  which  a  patch  of  lead  had  been 
pulled  off ;  but  the  damage  was  slight.     The  tripod  was  set 


The  Belief  Expeditim  of  U^^.—The  Proteus.     69 

up  and  secured.  The  repair  of  the  cache  and  the  set  of 
oljservations  are  all  the  work  that  was  reported  as  having 
been  done  at  Cape  Sabine  on  the  way  north.  The  Nares 
cache,  according  to  Garlington's  second  letter  to  the  Chief 
Siirnal  Officer  of  October  20th,   "  was  not  disturbed." 

While  the  men  were  at  work  Garlington  took  a  look  at 
the  ice  to  the  northward  in  Kane  Sea.  Seeing  open  lanes 
of  water  in  the  direction  of  what  appeared  to  be  Cape 
Hawks,  and  prompted  by  the  conviction  that  he  ought  to 
take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  reach  L..dy  Franklin 
Bay,  he  hurried  back  to  the  ship,  recalled  his  men,  and 
directed  Captain  Pike  to  get  under  way  and  examine  the 
leads  with  a  view  to  going  north.  The  Proteus  started  at 
eight  in  the  evening.  Lieutenant  Col  well  took  his  post  in 
the  crow's-nest  with  the  mate.  After  making  about  twenty 
miles  through  the  loose  pack,  the  ship  was  stopped  near  Cape 
Albert,  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  open  water,  beyond 
which  a  lane  extended  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  along 
the  coast.  Entering  a  crack  in  the  ice,  she  got  through  half 
the  distance  by  ramming.  Beyond  this  point  she  could  make 
no  impression,  the  ground-up  ice  forming  a  cushion  under 
her  bows  and  so  deadening  her  way  that  there  was  no  mo- 
mentum in  her  blows.  At  midnight  the  attempt  was  aban- 
doned, and  other  leads  were  tried,  until,  at  5  a.m.  of  the 
23d,  the  ship  was  in  the  open  water.  But  the  long  lane  of 
the  evening  before  had  now  disappeared,  and  in  its  place 
was  the  solid  pack. 

The  ship  now  turned  to  the  southward  to  escape  from 
•what  might  bcconic  at  any  moment  a  critical  position.  Tlie 
tide  was  bringing  back  the  Hoes  that  had  been  started  down 
Smith  Sound,  and  Buchanan  Strait  and  the  lower  part  of 


,i       ! 


/ 


70 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


!    [■' 


Kane  Sea  were  fast  filling  up.  Toward  three  o'clock  the 
ship  was  stopped  within  four  hundred  yards  of  open  water. 
Suddenly  the  ice  in  the  crack  began  to  snow  signs  of  enor- 
mous pressure.  Unfortunately  the  ship,  in  the  endeavor  to 
extricate  herself,  was  lying  at  the  moment  east  and  west, 
w^hich  subjected  her  sides  to  the  full  strain  of  the  pack  work- 
ing north.  Had  she  been  headed  south,  the  pressure,  though 
it  would  have  thrown  up  her  bow,  would  probably  have  left 
her  without  serious  injury.  As  it  was,  her  situation  was 
tlie  worst  that  could  have  been  contrived,  and  with  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  nip,  the  result  was  inevitable. 

The  Proteus  vas  a  staunch  vessel,  and  nothing  showed  it 
more  than  the  way  in  which  she  stood  the  terrible  trial  of 
that  July  afternoon  in  Kane  Sea.  Had  she  not  been  of  ex- 
traordinary Ftrength  and  endurance,  the  ice,  which  was  from 
five  to  seven  feet  thick,  would  have  made  short  work  of  her. 
As  it  was,  there  was  ample  time  for  preparation,  supposing  that 
the  ordinarj"^  precautions  of  ice-navigation  had  been  taken. 
The  nip  began  about  three  o'clock.  At  half-past  four  the 
starboard  rail  was  crushed  in.  At  this  time,  Garlington  and 
a  part  of  his  men  were  in  the  hold  getting  out  stores,  and 
another  party  under  the  Sergeant  was  at  the  same  work  in 
the  fore-peak,  where  the  prepared  depots  had  been  stowed. 
Presently  the  ship's  side  opened  with  a  crash,  the  ice  forced 
its  way  into  the  coal  bunkers,  the  water  rushed  into  the  hold, 
and  the  deck  planks  began  to  rise.  The  pressure  of  the 
floes  kept  the  ship  up,  and  the  stores  wluch  had  been  got 
on  deck  were  thrown  upon  the  ice.  In  the  hurry,  a  third 
of  what  was  thrown  overboard  was  lost  by  falling  too  near 
the  ship.  The  whale-boats,  one  of  which  had  Ixjcome  jammed 
and  was  saved  with  difficulty,  and  the  dingy,  were  got  out  by 


n 


TJw  Relief  Expedition  of  1883.-2%^  Proteus.     11 

Lieutenant  Colwell,  wlio  was  the  last  man  to  leave  the  ship. 
At  a  quarter  past  seven,  as  the  tide  turned  and  the  pressure 
slackened,  she  began  to  sink,  and  soon  passed  out  of  sight. 

The  crew  of  the  Proteus,  freed  from  the  restraints  of  dis- 
cipline, with  one  or  two  exceptions,  lent  no  assistance  in 
saving  the  stores,  and  after  securing  their  bags,  spent  their 
time  in  plundering  the  property  of  the  expedition.  The 
captain  could  not  prevent  it,  and  when  it  came  to  a  question 
of  force  between  the  relief  party  and  the  sailors,  the  latter 
had  in  many  ways  the  advantage.  After  the  ship  went 
down,  it  was  agreed  that  the  crew,  numbering  twenty-two 
men,  should  take  the  three  ship's  boats,  and  the  relief  de- 
tachment, numbering  fifteen,  the  two  whale-boats  belonging 
to  it,  and  that  they  should  all  sail  in  company  and  work  for 
the  common  good.  One  of  the  whale-boats  was  then  loaded 
with  provisions,  estimated  at  five  hundred  rations,  and 
Lieutenant  Colwell,  making  up  a  crew  in  part  from  the 
steamer's  men,  took  them  ashore  at  a  point  four  miles  west 
of  Cape  Sabine,  and  made  a  depot,  afterward  known  as  the 
"  wreck-camp  cache." 

After  Colwell's  return  to  the  floe,  Garlington  took  a  boat 
and  attempted  to  reach  the  land,  but  "  after  going  half  a 
mile  found  all  approaches  closed,  so  returned,  and  pulled  the 
boats  on  the  floe."  Later,  Colwell  made  another  trip  to  Cape 
Sabine,  followed  shortly  by  Garlington  in  the  whale-boat,  and 
by  all  of  Captain  Pike's  boats.  All  these  arrived  safely 
although  with  -^lifliculty,  only  two  men  in  Garlington's  boat 
knowing  how  to  row.  The  boat  came  near  swamping  on  the 
way  over,  the  plug  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  having  been 
worked  out  by  boxes  rubbing  against  it.  Garlington  then 
attempted  to  return  to  the  floe,  but  found  the  approaches  cut 


I 


( 


il 


I 


i 


n 


The  Rescue  of  Greely, 


off,  and  pulled  back  to  the  Cape.  Reaching  the  floe  a 
second  time,  Colwell  was  obliged  to  fill  his  boat  with  the 
men  who  had  been  left  bohind,  and  was  thus  prevented  from 
taking  any  considerable  quantity  of  the  provisions  that  re- 
mained. A  final  ittempt  was  made  by  Sergeant  Kenuey,  which 
resulted  in  saving  the  dingy  and  another  boat-load  of  stores. 
The  rest,  consisting  of  two  barrels,  and  some  scattered  cans 
and  clothing,  were  abandoned  on  the  ice. 


'    W 


CHAPTER  YI. 

THE  RETREAT  FROM  THE  WRECK  OF  THE  PROTEUS. 

In  reference  to  the  events  at  the  time  of  the  wreck  and 
following  it,  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  was  a  cruel  situation 
in  whi(;h  this  young  officer  of  cavalry  was  placed,  taken  from 
liis  station  in  Dakota,  after  six  years  of  service  with  his 
regiment,  and  suddenly  finding  himself  in  a  sinking  ship,  in 
the  middle  of  Kane  Sea,  with  the  whole  responsibility  of 
a  most  important  expedition  on  his  shoulders.  That  he  had 
voluntarily  assumed  this  responsibility  did  not  make  his 
position  any  the  less  distressing.  As  long  as  no  mishap 
occurred,  the  charge  of  conducting  the  expedition  was  a  light 
one,  by  whom.-^oever  it  might  he  borne.  Eut  the  moment 
an  accident  happened, — and  the  history  of  navigation  in  those 
waters  is  little  more  than  a  chapter  of  accidents, — the  nautical 
experience  and  nautical  judgment  of  the  head  of  the  expedi- 
tion became  the  prime  element  in  the  situation.  From  that 
mome!it  there  was  not  a  decision  to  be  taken,  not  an  act  to 
be  performed,  that  did  not  call  for  this  experience  and 
judgment,  and  call  for  them  in  a  high  degree.  Under  such 
circumstances,  the  presence  of  a  professional  subordinate, 
though  it  may  lessen,  does  not  obviate  the  dllhculties  of  a 
conunandor  whose  occupations  have  been  foreign  to  the 
business  in  hand. 

(hu'lington  now  had  his  imrty  of  fifteen  safely  on  shore  at 
Capo  Sab'.ne,  with  two  whale-boats,  and  provisions  for  forty 

(78) 


«; 


iM 


1     l!" 

1 

J, 

1i 


The  licscue  of  Grcely. 


days.  The  crew  of  the  Proteus  were  not  materially  cither 
a  help  or  a  liindrance,  excejit  that  they  rendered  possible  a 
Reparation  of  the  two  boats  of  the  relief  party.  A  plan  of 
this  kind  was  sn<rgcsted  by  Colwell,  his  idea  beiiif^  to  take  a 
boat,  lightly  equipped,  with  picked  men,  and  hasten  sonth  to 
get  the  news  to  the  Yanilc.  Garlington,  with  the  other 
boat,  could  then  have  remained  at  Littleton  Island,  or  have 
followed  with  the  crew  of  the  Proteu.%  along  the  east  tlun-e, 
making  as  good  time  as  he  could.  The  suggestion  accorded 
nearly  with  the  Wildes-Garlingtou  agreement,  which  said : 
"Should  Proteus  bo  lost,  push  a  boat  or  party  south  to 
Y^imtic."  It  was  not  adopted,  however,  and  the  whole  party 
remained  in  company  until  it  reached  Cape  York. 

It  was  recognized  that  the  Yantic  wjis  now  the  essential 
element  in  the  problem.  N^othing  had  been  done  to  relieve 
Greely,  exce])t  the  landing  of  live  hundred  rations  (estimated) 
lit  the  wreck-<'amp  cache,  and  some  few  stores  and  clothing  at 
Cape  Sal)ine.  The  relief  party  had  come  with  the  intention 
of  wintering  at  Littleton  Island,  if  it  failed  to  reach  Lady 
Franklin  Uay,  but  it  had  lost  its  stores.  The  Ycn^tic  had  on 
board  provisions  sufhcicnt  to  have  supplied  the  relief  party, 
or  a  ])ortion  of  it,  for  the  winter.  If  she  arrived  at  Littleton 
Island,  "  the  (piestion,"  says  (iarlington  in  his  report,  "  would 
become  one  of  easy  solution.  I  could  get  from  her  all  tho 
Htores  she  <'ould  spare,  including  clothing,  coal,  an<l  carvas, 
establish  a  station  at  Lifeboat  (^ove,  remain  tlxu'o  with  two  or 
three  men,  and  send  tho  rest  of  tho  party  with  tho  crew  of 
tho  Proteus  \o  St.  John's." 

Tho  Yanti('  had  not  at  this  time  arrived  at  Littlelon  Island, 
or  I*ajid»ra  Harbor  just  below,  and  (larlington  cau'o  to  thn 
conclusion  that  bIio  would  not  arrive,     "  It  was  my  houest 


The  Retreat  from  the   Wrech  of  the  Proteus.       T6 

opinion,"  he  says,  "that  the  Yantic\\o\\\(\  not  cross  ^[elville 
}iay."  In  this  he  was  guided  by  wliat  lie  had  seen  of  the 
ice  on  the  way  i^p,  taken  in  connection  with  the  instructions 
to  Commander  Wildes,  as  far  as  he  knew  them,  and  his  o\nn- 
ion  ccms  to  have  been  generally  shared  by  those  with  him. 
On  the  other  liand  lay  the  fact  that  the  only  object  of  the 
Yantic's  cruise  was  to  go  to  Littleton  Island,  or  some  neigh- 
boring point;  that  the  agreement  between  hiniRelf  and  Com- 
mander Wildes  ex]M'essly  provided  that  the  Yantlo  Bho\dd 
remain  until  August  2r)tli  in  Pandora  Harbor,  six  miles  below 
Littleton  Island,  which  would  be  the  head-quarters,  where  the 
Proteus  should  endeavor  to  eominunicate  with  her,  the  Yan- 
tie  agreeing  before  her  departure  to  run  up  to  Littleton  Island  ; 
and  finally,  that  a  reasonable  doubt  existed,  of  which  a  few 
days'  delay  would  furnish  a  probable  solution,  and  the  (pies- 
tion  was  one  U])on  which  the  success  or  failure  of  the  relief 
expedition,  the  performance  of  the  (irovernment's  pledge  to 
(Jreely,  and  the  lives  of  his  party  might  perhaps  depend.  In 
forming  a  judgment  upon  this  all-im])()rtant  cpiestion,  the  for- 
mer considerations  appear  to  have  prevailed,  and  it  was  deci- 
ded to  move  southward  at  onco. 

After  a  day's  rest  at  Cape  Sal)ine,  on  the  gHth  of  July  the 
two  piirties  started  in(lej)en(l('Jitly  in  their  boats,  the  crew  of 
tlie  Proteus  taking  their  own  provisions  (amount  unknown), 
ai'd  +''0  *eliof  party  carrying  abont  000  rations,  estimating 
the  amount  at  tlic  figures  reported,  which  were  forty  days' 
provisions  for  fifteen  men.  if  (his  supply  should  prove  In- 
sufiicient,  (Jarlington  had  also  the  possible  contingency  of 
finding  game  on  the  eastern  shore,  (allhongh  for  small  game 
ho  had  hut  onc^  shotgun  and  thirty-six  eartri<lg(vO,  mid  as  the 
lust  rwort  of  roplei'ishing  his  stons   from   tlic  depot   on 


I  it 


w 


7SBP1 


>i 


jj 


■  t^ 


ll  '1 


(  • 


16 


The  Hescae  of  Grechj. 


Oary  Island.  The  resources  wliicli  would  be  at  Greely's  dis- 
posal, should  he  arrive  at  Caj^e  Sabine  for  the  winter,  were 
correctly  described  by  Garlington  in  tlie  record  left  by  him 
on  Brevoort  Island,  on  tlie  second  day  after  the  wreck,  the 
essential  part  of  which,  is  as  follows : 

"  A  dopol  was  landed  from  the  floe  at  a  point  about  three  miles  from 
the  point  of  Cape  Sabine  as  yon  turn  into  Buelianan  Strait.  There  were 
five  hundred  rations  of  bread,  sleeping  bags,  tea,  and  a  lot  of  canned 
goods  ;  no  time  to  classify.  Tliis  cache  is  about  thirty  feet  f»*jin  the 
water-line,  and  twelve  feet  above  it  on  the  west  side  of  a  little  cove  under 
a  steep  cliff.  Rapidly  closing  ice  prevented  its  being  marked  by  a  flag- 
staff or  otherwise  ;  have  not  been  vble  to  land  tiiere  since.  A  cache  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  rations  in  same  vicinity  left  by  the  expedition  of 
1881  ;  visited  by  me  and  found  in  good  condition,  except;  boat  broken  by 
bears.  There  is  a  cache  of  clothing  on  point  of  ("ape  Sabine,  opposite 
Brevoort  Island,  in  the  'jamb'  of  the  rock,  and  covered  with  rublior 
blankets.  The  English  depot  on  the  small  island  near  Brevoort  Island  in 
damaged  condition  ;  not  visited  by  me.  There  is  a  cache  of  two  lnuHlr"d 
and  fifty  rations  on  the  northern  point  of  Littleton  Island,  and  a  boat  at 
Cape  Isabella." 

Soon  after  starting  from  Cape  Sabine,  the  relief  detachment 
was  8C])arated  from  tlio  others,  and  cros°n>.<<  the  sound,  landed 
near  Lifeboat  Cove.  No.\l  mortiing  ir  ^  -oppod  at  Littleton 
Island,  leaving  a  record,  which  announced  the  disaster  to  the 
Proteus^  and  stated  that  all  hands  had  beeti  saved,  and  that 
the  relief  party  had  arrived  at  Littleton  Island.  Consistently 
with  Garlington's  theory  that  the  Yantio  could  not  or  would 
not  come  up,  notwithstanding  the  agreement,  the  record  was 
not  expressed  as  if  Wildes  woidd  ever  see  it,  but  was  appar- 
ently iuteude.l  to  eidighteii  and  reassure  Lieutenant  (ireely, 
\\\  case  that  officer  should  come  to  the  island  before  going  to 
Cape  Sabiuf.  It  v\rent  on  to  say  :  "Much  provisions  g()tti'U 
Qvor  side  of  ohip,  but  a  gr-^at  q^iantily  ^\'ent  under  before  it 


ll 


0C^:r       V 


*«ft.  . 


Mr?' 


'  I 


^! 


I' 


i;^     I    ) 


II 


rtl 


li' 


I' 


n 


r?f'S. 


■J 

T 

1 

'f 

The  Betreat  from  the   Wreck  of  the  Proteus.       Y7 

could  be  removed  a  sufficient  distance  from  the  sliip  for  safety. 
500  pounds  of  hard  bread,  sleeping  bags,  and  assorted  subsist- 
ence stores  were  landed  from  the  floe,  about  three  miles 
from  Caj^o  Sabine  around  point  toward  Baelie  Island. 
Tliere  is  also  a  cache,  made  last  year,  along  same  sliorc.  The 
depot  was  secured  as  well  as  possible.  Ice  was  rapidly  clos- 
ing, heavy,  etc.  A  quantity  of  clothing  was  left  on  extreme 
point  of  Cape  Sabine,  and  one  barrel  of  beef,  all  poorly  se- 
cured for  same  reason  as  above.  I  am  making  for  the  south 
to  comnmnicate  with  U.  S.  Steamer  Yantlc,  which  is  en- 
deavoring to  get  up.  Every  effort  will  be  made  to  come 
north  at  once  for  the  Greely  party.  The  Yantic  can  not 
come  into  the  ice,  and  she  has  a  crew  of  140  men.  So  will 
have  to  get  another  ship.  Everything  will  be  done  to  get 
as  far  north  as  possible  before  the  season  closes.  Ice  thick 
and  heavy.  Calm  to-day,  and  I  am  in  a  great  hurry  to  take 
advantage  of  it  and  tide." 

As  it  turned  out,  Greely  passed  the  winter  at  Cape  Sabine, 
and  did  not  cross  to  Littleton  Island,  so  that  he  was  never  in 
a  position  to  obtain  whatever  encouragement  might  have 
been  derived  from  the  perusal  of  this  record.  If  he  had 
been,  it  would  have  puzzled  him  not  a  little.  It  reasoned 
substantially  that  although  the  Yantio  (presumably  some- 
where between  Upernivik  and  Littleton  Island)  was  endeav- 
oring to  get  up,  Garlingt(jn  would  not  wait  for  her,  but  would 
nudce  for  the  south  to  communicate  with  her,  cause  her  to 
desist  from  her  perilous  undertaking,  as  she  could  not  enter 
the  ice,  and  tlien  go  back  in  her  to  St.  John's  to  get  another 
vessel, — for  certainly  no  otlier  vessel  could  be  obtained  short 
of  thii;  place, — after  which,  all  would  bo  done  to  get  as  far 
north  as  possible. 


i\m 


liii 


'1 


\ 


Y8 


The  HesGue  of  Greely, 


li 


111  tlie  endeavor  to  comrauiiicate  with  the  T'cmtie,  which, 
according  to  the  record,  Garhngton  now  purposed  making, 
the  natural  course  to  pursue  was  to  visit  those  points  of  com- 
munication which  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  two  com- 
manders before  leaving  St.  John's,  leaving  records  which 
should  indicate  as  closely  as  possible  the  next  stages  in  the 
retreat  southward.  However  impossible  the  Yantic  migiit 
find  the  passage,  she  was  endeavoring  to  get  up,  and  Garling- 
ton  was  endeavoring  to  meet  her,  so  that  in  pursuing  this 
plan  he  was  only  following  the  most  obvious  and  necessary 
line  of  conduct.  The  stations  agreed  upon  as  places  of  com- 
munication were  in  the  inverse  order,  Littleton  Island,  Pan- 
dora Harbor,  Ilakluyt  or  Southeast  Gary  Island,  and  Cape 
York.  If  any  meeting  was  to  take  place,  therefore,  it  would 
probably  be  at  or  near  one  of  these  j^oints ;  and  if  the  Yantio 
passed  the  boats  without  meeting,  it  was  by  a  record  at  theso 
points  that  the  mishap  could  most  quickly  be  remedied.  The 
next  point  sought  was  therefore  Pandora  Harbor,  whero  Caj)- 
tain  Pike's  party,  composing  the  crow  of  the  Proteus,  were 
rejoined,  and  where  another  record  was  left.  Some  deten- 
tion occurred  here  from  fog,  but  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
28th  the  boats  were  again  moving  southward. 

The  party  passed  the  night  at  Cape  Saumarez.  At  Gar- 
lington's  request,  the  boatswain  of  the  Proteus  was  trans- 
ferred to  his  boat,  only  two  of  his  men  being,  as  he  states, 
"  at  all  versed  in  the  management  of  a  small  boat."  North- 
umberland Island  was  reached  in  the  evening  of  the  29th, 
and  the  boats  were  delayed  here  by  a  strong  easterly  wind 
until  the  following  afternoon  when  they  started  for  Gary 
Island  ;  but  after  proceeding  twenty  miles,  they  were  obliged 
by  bad  weather  to  run  iu  to  the  mainland.     On  the  31st  the 


bo 
tl 
Tl 
h 


'4t 


I 


The  Heir  eat  from  the   Wreck  of  the  Proteus.       T9 

t)oats  readied  a  point  seven  miles  noi-tli  of  Cape  Parry,  where 
they  remained  two  days,  during  a  lieavy  easterly  storm. 
Tliis  was  now  the  natural  point  of  departure  for  the  Cary 
Islands,  the  next  of  the  prearranged  post-oulces.  After  a 
consultation  with  Colwell,  Garlington  decided  not  to  go  there, 
as  Colwell  "  thought  it  would  be  extremely  hazardous  witli 
our  heavily  laden  boats."  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of 
August  2d,  the  expedition  proceeded  southward  towards 
Cape  York,  the  last  point  of  communication,  passing  the  Cary 
Islands,  at  a  distance  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles,  and 
reached  Saunders  Island  at  9.20  in  the  evening,  where  they 
landed  and  made  a  camp.  As  the  sequel  showed,  it  was  most 
unfortunate  that  the  circumstances  should  have  seemed  to 
require  such  a  decision,  for  if  the  boats  had  gone  to  Cary 
Island,  or  if,  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  previously 
made  by  Colwell,  and  renewed  by  him  at  this  time,  one  of 
them  lightly  equipped  and  provided  with  a  picked  crew  had 
gone  there,  the  whole  year's  work  might  have  borne  a  dif- 
ferent aspect.  To  understand  this  fact,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  return  to  the  movements  of  the  Yantic. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Proteus  from  Disko,  on  July 
15th,  the  YaiitiGy  which  bad  arrived  on  the  12th,  was  de- 
tained six  days  by  repairs  of  the  boiler.  After  a  further 
delay  of  two  days  on  account  of  bad  weather,  she  left  God- 
liavn  for  Rittenbenk  and  Kudlisret,  where  she  stopped  for 
coal.  Proceeding  on  without  incident,  she  arrived  at  Uper- 
nivik  on  July  27th,  late  in  the  evening. 

The  orders  of  the  Department  to  Commander  Wildes  di- 
rected him,  in  cruising  to  the  northward,  to  rcily  to  a  certain 
extent  up(m  the  ice-pilot,  and  uj)on  the  information  given  by 
the  Danish  authorities  at  Disko  and  Upernivik.  as  to  the 


V.  Hi 


rft  ! 


n 


: } 


80 


The  BescvAi  of  Greely. 


•'!*! 


probable  movements  of  the  ice.  Governor  Elborg,  of  Uper- 
nivik,  informed  him  that  the  previous  winter  had  been  mild, 
the  prevailing  winds  having  been  southwest,  and  that  he 
thought  it  likely  there  was  little  ice  in  Melville  Bay,  and 
that  what  there  was  would  be  close  to  the  land. 

The  Yantic  remained  at  TJpernivik  from  10  p.m.  July  27th, 
until  noon  July  31st,  waiting  for  thick  foggy  weather  to  clear. 
Upon  leaving  his  anchorage,  Wildes  found  that  the  predic- 
tions of  the  governor  were  correct.  The  Duck  Islands  were 
reached  early  on  the  morning  of  August  1st,  and  the  ship 
headed  across  the  bay.  From  noon  until  8  in  the  evening 
she  was  in  a  thick  fog,  but  she  held  steadily  on  her  course, 
and  by  one  o'clock  the  next  morning  she  was  in  sight  of  Cape 
York.  During  the  passage  she  had  met  streams  of  loose  ice, 
and  had  seen  the  pack  to  the  northward,  but  had  not  found 
it  on  her  course.  At  Cape  York  the  land-ice  extended  fifteen 
miles  ofE  shore,  and  the  pack  fifteen  miles  beyond,  stretching 
along  the  coast  as  far  as  could  be  seen  from  the  crow's-nest. 
It  was  therefore  decided  not  to  stop  at  the  Cape,  although  it 
Lad  been  designated  in  the  agreement  with  Garlington  as 
one  of  the  communicating  stations  ;  nor  indeed  had  the 
Proteus  done  so  on  her  way  up.  It  may  be  suggested  here 
that  CajX"  York,  though  a  good  place  for  a  cairn  on  account 
of  its  prominence,  is  very  apt  to  be  surrounded  by  ice,  and 
that  Conical  Rock  is  much  more  accessible.  Skirting  closely 
the  edge  of  the  pack,  and  occasionally  cutting  off  a  corner, 
or  driving  through  a  lead,  the  Yantio  continued  on  daring 
the  morning  of  the  2d,  only  impeded  by  a  fog.  By  noon 
it  had  cleared.  Cape  York  had  been  rounded,  and  the  ship 
was  headed  directly  for  the  second  of  the  post-ofiices  named 
in  the  agreement,  the  Southeast  Cary  Island. 


The  Retreat  from  the  Wrech  of  the  Proteus.       81 

Wildes  readied  tlie  island  at  9.30  p.m.,  Aiigust  2d,  landed, 
and  examined  the  cairn.  Here  lie  found  the  record  left  by 
the  Proteus  on  the  21st  of  July.  He  also  examined  the  English 
depot,  which  he  found  in  good  condition.  Having  made  his 
examination  and  left  a  record,  he  got  under  way  at  10.30  p.m., 
the  weather  being  very  fine,  and  steamed  to  the  northward. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  this  very  day,  the  2d  of  August, 
that  Garlington  and  his  party,  with  the  crew  of  the  Proteus^ 
had  left  the  camp  seven  miles  north  of  Cape  Parry,  where 
they  had  passed  two  days,  and  w^here  the  question  of  going  to 
the  post-ofiice  at  Gary  Island  had  been  decided  adversely. 
The  three  points — Cape  Parry,  Cary  Island,  and  Saunders 
Island,  form  the  vertices  of  a  nearly  equilateral  triangle,  with 
its  northern  apex  at  Cape  Parry,  Saunders  Island  lying  to 
the  southeast,  well  in  with  the  coast,  and  Cary  Island  to  the 
southwest.  Had  Garlington,  instead  of  going  southeast  to 
Saunders  Island,  where  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose  the 
Yantlc  would  touch,  and  where  he  arrived  at  9.20  p.m.  on 
this  memorable  day,  gone  to  the  southwest  to  Cary  Island, 
where  there  was  every  reason  to  suppose  the  Yantlc  w^ould. 
touch,  if  she  came  up,  and  where  he  would  have  arrived  in 
nearly  the  same  length  of  time,  the  boats  and  the  reserve 
vessel  would  have  met  beyond  a  doubt,  the  party  would  have 
been  landed  on  Littleton  Island  for  the  winter,  as  Garlington 
desired,  and  the  disaster  of  the  next  spring  would  in  all  hu- 
man probabiHty  have  been  averted.  The  Yantic  arrived  at 
Cary  Island  at  9.30,  ten  minutes  after  the  boats  arrived  at  Saun- 
ders Island.  Even  without  this  extraordinary  coincidence,  by 
which  it  seemed  as  if  the  fates  had  placed  the  issue  in  such 
certain  lines  that  nothing  short  of  a  miracle  could  have  pre- 
vented a  meeting,  if  the  boats  had  reached  and  left  the 
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23  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

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TJie  Eescue  of  Grecly. 


k>        aI  ■ 


post-office  before  tLe  Yantio  arrived,  the  latter  would  have 
been  enabled  from  the  indications  in  the  record  to  have  fol- 
lowed and  found  them  by  the  next  day. 

In  reference  to  this,  one  of  the  most  important  decisions 
taken  on  the  return  voyage,  Garlington,  in  his  report,  gives 
no  reason  existing  in  his  own  mind  for  his  action.  As  far  as 
tiie  report  shows,  he  depended  entirely  on  the  judgment  of 
Lieutenant  Cohvell.  He  says:  "After  consulting  with 
Lieutenant  Colwell,  I  decided  not  to  go  to  Cary  Island  as 
originally  intended.  He  thought  it  would  be  extremely 
hazardous  with  our  heavily  laden  boats.  We  left  this  camp 
at  8.30  A.M.  AugUEt  2d."  This  apparently  settled  the 
matter. 

The  decision  was  a  result  of  the  arrangement  by  which  a 
landsman  found  himself  in  command  of  a  nautical  expedi- 
tion, with  a  nautical  subordinate.  When  a  nautical  question 
arises, — and  all  the  questions  upon  which  success  or  failure 
depended  would  ])robably  be  nautical, — the  non-profession- 
al commander  abdicates  his  rcsjionsibility  and  tlirows  it  on 
his  professional  assistant.  Whether  the  latter,  had  ho  been 
in  the  jwsition  of  responsible  command,  would  have  been 
unable  to  reach  the  place  of  meeting,  is  another  question. 
Hal  Colwell  been  permitted  to  carry  out  the  suggestion 
made  by  him  at  Cape  Sabine,  and  renewed  before  leaving 
(yape  Parry,  of  proceeding  alone  to  the  place  of  communica- 
tion, he  would  certainly  have  elTocted  his  object,  for  it  is 
clear  that  the  man  who  successfully  accomplished  two  weeks 
later  the  passage  across  Melville  Bay  in  a  single  boat,  would 
have  found  no  serious  difficulty  in  making  hia  way  from 
Cape  Parry  to  Cary  Island. 

The  ship  and  the  boats  were  now  moviog  in  opposito  direc- 


I    i 


■  >         V 


The  Ectreat  from  tlie  Wreck  of  the  Proteus.       83 


tions.  The  retreating  party  in  tlic  boats,  leaving  a  record 
on  Saunders  Island,  pursued  their  way  southward  with  great 
difficulty  and  with  frequent  delays  from  the  ice.  When  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Cape  York  on  the  9th  of  August  Col- 
well  with  a  party  of  five  men  took  the  light  punt  belonging 
to  the  Proteus  and  set  out  over  the  ice  to  the  Eskimo  settle- 
ments to  find  out  whether  anything  had  been  seen  of  passing 
vessels.  lie  rejoined  the  main  party  next  day  after  having 
seen  the  natives,  but  no  ship  had  been  seen  at  Cape  York. 
Ko  more  definite  information  could  be  obtained.  Other  Es- 
kimo were  afterward  met  and  questioned,  with  a  like  result. 

(jrarlington  remained  about  Cape  York  until  the  16th. 
It  was  decided  that  Lieutenant  Colwel!,  taking  one  of  the 
whale-boats,  should  leave  the  main  purty  and  make  directly 
across  the  bay  to  Disko,  to  reach  the  1' antic  before  she  pro- 
ceeded south  ;  while  Garlington  in  the  other  boat,  accompa- 
nied by  the  boatswain  and  the  rest  of  the  relief  party,  should 
remain  with  the  people  of  the  J*ro(c'us  and  proceed  to  Uper- 
nivik,  keeping  as  close  in  to  the  laud  as  possible  on  the  out- 
side of  the  ice.     This  plan  was  carried  out. 

Meanwhile  the  Yaiitlc,  having  left  Cary  Island  at  half- 
past  ton  on  the  2d  of  August,  steamed  up  the  eastern  side  of 
Smith  Sound  and  arrived  the  next  afternoon  at  Littleton  Isl- 
and. Hero  Garlington's  record  of  July  2Gth  was  found,  and 
the  first  news  waa  obtained  of  the  disister  to  the  Protens. 
All  hands  had  been  saved  and  the  relief  party  had  arrived  at 
Littleton  Island  ;  but  no  statement  was  made  as  to  the  situa- 
tion of  the  steamer's  crew,  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  had 
nt)t  touched  at  Littleton  Island  on  the  way  south,  and  of 
whoso  movements  Garlington  was  at  that  time  in  ignorance. 

The  question  what  course  of  action  should  be  pursued  by 


.1     H 


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S'  III 


84 


7%^  Beacue  of  Greely, 


Commander  Wildes  in  the  light  of  the  record  was  not  a 
doubtful  one.  In  the  first  place,  the  Yantic  had  positive  or- 
ders not  to  go  north  of  Littleton  Island,  and  therefore  she 
could  not  supply  the  place  of  the  wrecked  Proteus  and  pro- 
ceed on  the  latter's  unfulfilled  mission  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay ; 
nor  had  it  ever  been  intended  or  thought  possible  that  she 
should.  Secondly,  to  carry  out  the  agreement  with  Garling- 
ton  and  remain  at  Littleton  Island  till  August  25th  would 
now  be  wholly  futile,  as  Garlington  was  on  his  way  south. 
There  was  therefore  only  one  course  to  pursue,  namely, 
to  follow  the  traces  of  the  relief  party,  and  overtake  and 
bring  them  ba'ik  as  soon  as  possible.  The  plan  outlined 
by  Garlington  was  not  very  clear,  as  he  merely  said  that  he 
was  "  making  for  the  south  to  communicate  with  the  Yarv- 
ticP  The  agreement  made  at  St.  John's,  even  if  it  had  not 
suggested  a  course  of  action  with  a  view  to  the  actual  state  of 
events,  would  naturally,  however,  be  reverted  to  by  both  par- 
ties in  the  absence  of  other  information.  It  wjis  fair  to  pre- 
sume that  if  Garlington  was  endeavoring  to  communicate, 
he  would  make  the  endeavor  at  one  of  the  previously  estab- 
lished points  of  communication.  In  view  of  these  facts,  the 
Yantio  followed  what  was  clearly  a  correct  course,  and  went 
in  search  of  the  retreating  boats,  to  ascertain  something  of 
the  missing  crew  of  the  Proteus^  and  to  pick  up  the  relief 
party,  which  might  then  bo  landed  with  provisions  upon  Lit- 
tleton Island. 

The  Yantic^  therefore,  put  in  first  into  Pandora  Harbor. 
There  she  found  the  two  records  left  by  Garlington  and  by 
Captain  Pike.  The  former  stated  that  the  party  had  forty 
days' full  rations,  aiid  that  he  would  "go  south,  keeping  cIosj 
into  shore  as  possible,  and  calling  at  Gary  Islands,  to  Cape 


The  Retreat  from  the  ^rech  of  the  Proteus.       85 

York,  or  until  I  meet  some  vessel.  Hope  to  meet  U.  S.  S. 
YaniiC  or  the  Swedish  steamer  Sofia^  which  should  be  about 
Cape  York." 

In  accordance  with  these  instructions,  Commander  Wildes 
set  out  with  his  vessel  in  pursuit  of  the  boats.  Following 
tlie  directions  in  the  record,  and  at  the  same  time  keeping 
the  general  agreement,  tlio  Yantic,  after  running  down  the 
coast  to  Cape  Robertson,  stood  across  Murchison  Sound  to 
Ilakluyt  Island.  The  island  was  closely  examined,  but  nothing 
was  found,  as  Garlington  had  not  visited  it.  From  Ilakluyt 
Island  the  Yantic  struck  across  to  the  mainland,  nearing  the 
coast  at  a  point  seven  miles  east  of  Cape  Parry,  which  must 
have  been  about  the  spot  where  Garlington  camped  on  the 
Slst  of  July,  and  from  which  he  set  out  on  the  2d  of  August 
for  Saunders  Island.  Running  over  in  four  hours  from  this 
point,  Wildes  reached  Cary  Island  at  midnight  of  August 
4th,  but  he  found  that  it  had  not  been  visited,  and  his  record 
of  two  days  bef.jre  had  not  been  disturbed. 

The  situation  was  now  a  perplexing  one.  It  was  not  likely 
that  i,iie  five  boats  could  bo  los-t,  udv  did  it  seem  possible 
that  they  could  have  grne  south  without  touching  at  Cary 
Island,  after  the  explicit  statement  made  in  the  record  at 
Pandora  Harbor.  The  only  other  supposition  was  that  they 
had  been  missed  on  the  way  down,  and  all  that  could  be  done 
by  the  Yantic  was  to  go  once  more  over  the  ground,  and  make 
a  more  careful  search.  She  therefore  ran  back  to  Ilakluyt 
Island,  and  then  across  to  Capo  Parry,  folK  w!ng  the  shore 
closely  southwards.  In  these  movements,  her  progress  was 
checked  from  time  to  time  by  the  ice,  or  by  threatening 
weather.  Thus  it  happcMiod  that  in  this  last  southerly  course, 
along  the  shore,  she  arrived  on  the  5th  of  August  at  a  point 


i     J 


1   . 


I 


i  i 


M 


86' 


T/ie  Bescue  of  Greehj. 


five  miles  northwest  of  Saunders  Island,  to  which  place  Gar- 
lin^ou  had  proceeded  three  days  before,  and  which  he  had 
only  left  on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  after  depositing  a 
record.  If  the  Yantic  had  continued  on  her  course  she 
would  have  been  but  a  day  behind  the  boats,  and  would  have 
reached  them  in  a  few  hours  to  a  certainty.  In  fact,  at  this 
very  moment,  Garlington  and  his  party  were  near  Cape 
Athol,  at  a  point  seventeen  miles  from  Saunders  Island,  and 
"herefore  twenty-two  miles  from  the  Yantic^  or  less  than 
four  hours'  steaming ;  and  here  they  remained  until  the  7th. 
But  the  ice  was  thickening  ahead,  and  the  pack  to  the  west- 
ward extending  in,  the  wind  was  "  fresh  from  the  north,  and 
fog  hanging  low  down,"  so  the  Yajiiio  ran  oil  shore  to  the 
Bouthwest,  and  then  stood  back  to  AVhale  Sound. 

The  game  of  cross-purposes  which  the  two  parties  had 
been  playing  for  several  days  in  lower  Smith  Sound  now 
came  to  an  end,  and  the  only  chance  of  their  meeting  was 
at  the  llnal  rendezvous  at  Cape  York.  On  the  Cth  of  Au- 
gust, at  5.30  A.M.,  the  Yantic  came  to  anchor  off  Northum- 
berland Island.  Connnander  Wildes  states  in  his  report : 
"  I  determined  lr>  remain  here  a  few  days  to  await  the  mov- 
ing off  shore  of  the  ice  or  a  loosening  up  of  the  pack  so 
[that]  I  could  get  through."  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day,  i>  party  of  officers  from  the  Yantic,  in  searching  North- 
umberland Island,  came  upon  the  remains  of  a  camp  appar- 
ently a  week  old,  with  tin  cans  and  matches  strewn  about, 
showing  that  it  had  been  a  station  of  the  relief  party.  Next 
day  another  camp  was  found  on  the  same  island,  which  was 
surmised  to  be  that  of  the  crew  of  the  Proteus.  This  was 
the  first  trace  that  had  Ijeen  found,  but  there  was  no  record. 
It  was  cleai'  that  the  boats  had  gouu  south,  and  that  iu  all 


The  Retreat  from  i/ie  Wreck  of  the  Proteus.       87 

probability  they  were  now  in  the  neigbborhood  of  Cape 
York. 

Tiie  Yantic  reniaiuecl  at  ber  ancborage  for  tbrec  clays,  ber 
Bcarcli  baving  now  apparently  terminated.  Late  on  tbe  9tb  sbe 
made  her  way  again  to  Gary  Island.  Here  sbe  ran  in  closo 
to  tbe  cove,  and  fired  guns,  but  received  no  response,  and 
"VVildes  beaded  for  Cape  York. 

It  was  unfortunate  tbat  tbe  Yantic  on  ber  first  arrival  at 
Littleton  Island,  or  at  some  time  during  tbe  next  seven  days, 
wben  fbe  was  knocking  about  lower  Smitli  Sound,  altbougb 
ber  orders  contained  no  directions  on  tbis  point,  did  not  land 
on  tbe  island  some  part  of  ber  abundant  store  of  provisions, 
wben  it  was  learned  that  notbiug  bad  been  done  for  Grcely's 
relief  beyond  tbe  establisbment  of  tbe  wreck  cacbe  at  Cai)0 
SaMnc.  It  is  true,  tbat  as  it  turned  out,  Greely  never  crossed 
to  Littleton  Island,  but  remained  eigbt  niontbs  at  Cape  Sa- 
bine, and  be  would  tberefore  bave  derived  no  benefit  from  a 
wbole  sbip-load  of  stores  on  tbe  east  coast.  But  nobody  could 
foresee  tbis,  and  tbere  was  every  reason  to  suppose  be  would 
go  tbere.  It  is  also  true  tbat  it  bad  never  been  expected  tbat 
the  Yantic  sbould  carry  stores  for  tbe  expedition,  or  tbat  sbe 
would  bo  of  any  sorvice  except  as  a  tender  to  tbe  Proteus. 
But  if,  notwithstanding  tbe  absence  of  any  directions  to  tbat 
end,  tbe  Yantic  bad  gone  beyond  ber  orders,  beyond  tbo 
spliere  for  wbicb  tbe  Signal  OlHco  bad  intended  ber,  and  to 
wbicb  tbe  Navy  Department  bad  assigned  ber,  and  bad  seized 
tbe  extraordinary  opj)ortunity  wbicb  bad  falU^n  to  ber,  of  re- 
trieving in  some  sense  tbo  disaster  wbicb  bud  already  oc- 
curred, tbrougb  no  fault  of  ber  own,  it  would  bave  been  a 
most  bapi)y  occurrence ;  and  if,  in  addition  to  leaving  tbo 
storeE,  tt  party  of  volunteers  bad  been  found  from  bor  owu 


^'^1 

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88 


The  Rescue  of  Greely, 


people — and  it  has  been  officially  stated  that  they  were  forth- 
coming— and  had  been  landed  on  the  island,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  the  tarrying  of  the  explorers  at  Cape  Sabine, 
during  the  next  year,  would  have  been  without  its  fatal  con- 
sequences. Had  a  fresh  party  of  seamen  with  boats  under  a 
competent  officer  been  there  through  the  fall  and  winter, 
"  keeping  their  telescopes  fixed  on  Cape  Sabine  and  the  land 
to  the  northward,"  there  is  small  doubt  that  they  would  at 
some  time  during  those  weary  months  have  discovered  the 
party  which  they  had  stayed  to  rescue,  and  have  found  a  time 
and  a  way  to  cross  the  twenty-three  miles  between  the  capo 
and  the  island,  whatever  might  have  been  the  condition  of 
the  ice  or  the  currents. 

After  leaving  Cary  Island  for  the  last  time  to  make  her 
way  to  Cape  York,  the  Yantlc  ran  close  in  to  the  ice  near 
Cape  Dudley  D'gges,  but  could  find  no  opening ;  tlie  ice 
was  packed  close,  and  reached  to  the  land  some  distance  off. 
Cape  York  lay  around  the  bend  of  the  shore,  forty  miles 
further  on.  It  was  the  last  place  of  communication  men- 
tioned in  the  agreement,  and  it  was  the  final  objective  point 
designated  by  Garlington  in  the  record  at  Pandora  Harbor. 
There  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  at  this  time  he  was  in 
that  neighborhood.  He  ac^tnally  arrived  at  Cape  York  with 
the  boats  on  the  10th  of  August,  and  here,  or  near  here,  he 
remained  till  the  16th.  At  noon  of  the  10th — the  day  that 
Garlington  arrived — "  having  ice/^  says  Commander  AVildea 
in  his  rejwrt,  '•  in  all  directions  except  S.E.,  and  unable  to 
eeo  but  a  short  distance  in  that  direction,  the  land  being 
unapproachable,  our  supply  of  coal  greatly  diminished,  the 
imprudence  of  remaining  in  this  vicinity  became  sufficiently 
obvious,  and  I  bore  up  for  Upernivik,  which  was  reached 
August  I2th.» 


The  Heir  eat  from  the  Wreck  of  the  Proteus.       89 


Tho  failure  to  meet  at  Gary  Island  finds  its  parallel  in  the 
failure  to  meet  at  Cape  York.  It  ia  not  a  little  singular  that 
by  a  coincidence  in  dates  as  remarkable  as  that  wliieh  had 
occurred  eight  days  before,  the  Yantic  ]xassed  the  final  ren- 
dezvous at  the  very  time  when  the  party  which  she  had  been 
seeking  arrived  there ;  and  it  was  correspondingly  unfortu- 
nate that  as  the  attendant  circumstances  in  the  first  case  pre- 
vented the  boats  from  falling  in  with  the  Yantic^  in  the  sec- 
ond case  they  prevented  the  Yantic  or  her  people  from 
meeting  the  shipwrecked  party  in  the  boats. 

While  at  Upernivik  a  launch  was  chartered,  and  sent  to 
Tassuisak  ^7ith  provisions.  A  boat  with  a  crew  of  Eskimo 
was  sent  on  to  Cape  Shackleton,  to  keep  a  lookout  for  the 
lost  expedition.  After  lying  ten  days  at  Upernivik,  Com- 
mander Wildes  decided  on  the  22d  to  leave  the  place,  as  stated 
in  his  report : 

"Aug.  23rf.  The  short  summer  of  this  hiirh  latitude  being  nt  an  end, 
the  weather  having  changed,  vegetation  having  become  brown  and  with- 
ered, tlie  birds  having  departed  witli  their  young,  ice  and  frost  forming 
each  night,  the  intervals  of  good  weather  becoming  rarer,  the  autumn 
gales  being  liable  to  set  in  at  any  time  and  knowing  that  the  first  one  of 
any  severity  would  put  the  ship  on  the  rocks,  as  the  only  holding  ground 
was  bare  rock,  feeling  that  I  was  incurring  great  risk,  increasing  daily 
by  remaini.ig  longer,  I  got  under  way  and  proceeded  to  the  Kudlisojt  coal 
cliffs  in  Wtiigat  Straits." 

Taking  on  board  fifty  tons  of  coal  at  the  coal  cliffs,  the 
Yantic  proceeded  on  to  Godhavu,  where  she  arrived  on  the 
28th. 

It  only  remains  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  two  boat  par- 
ties. They  had  Fcparated  near  Cape  York,  Garling^on's  boat 
remaining  with  the  crew  of  the  Proteus^  and  ColwclFs  ha* 
teniug  alouo  directly  across  the  Bay.    Garhngtou's  party 


m 


I     f 


i; 


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1 


3 .'     ■  I 


\- 


: 


90 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


i  i    ■ 


•I  ' 


took  a  more  northerly  course,  following  the  trend  of  the  shore, 
and,  stopping  at  the  islands  on  their  way,  arrived  off  Cape 
Shaekleton  a  week  after  the  separation.  Here  they  saw 
smoke-signals,  and  heading  for  the  land,  they  were  met  by 
the  Eskimo  whom  Gov.  Elborg  had  sent  north  to  establish 
an  advanced  relief -post.  Next  day  they  arrived  at  Upernivik, 
whence  the  Yantio  had  departed  two  days  before. 

The  other  boat  under  Colwell,  taking  a  more  southerly 
course,  set  out  alone  on  its  journey  across  Melville  Bay — a 
journey  which  takes  a  place  among  the  best  work  done  by 
Arctic  explorers.  For  perseverance,  good  judgment,  and 
courage  in  the  officer  who  accomplished  it  almost  single- 
handed,  it  could  not  well  be  outdone.  After  separating  from 
the  rest  of  the  party  on  the  afternoon  of  August  16th,  Col- 
well steered  south-southeast  for  Upernivik.  Meeting  a  pack 
which  extended  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  he  moved 
off  to  the  southward,  so  that  he  might  just  keep  within  its 
broken  edge.  The  wind  gradually  increased  to  a  gale,  with 
frequent  snow-squalls.  Inside  the  edge  of  the  pack  there 
was  a  heavy  swell,  but  the  seas  did  not  break.  In  the  after- 
noon the  southern  edge  of  the  pack  seemed  to  trend  off  to 
the  northeast,  and  the  boat  left  the  i(  e,  resuming  her  course 
for  Upernivik.  Soon  after  clearing  the  pack,  the  wind  in- 
creased, and  Colwell,  unable  longer  to  steer  his  course,  was 
obliged  to  run  before  the  gale  and  the  short,  heavy,  break- 
ing sea.  Three  of  his  men  were  hopelessly  sea-sick,  and  the 
Eskimo  too  frightened  to  understand  English,  so  that  his 
crew  was  reduced  to  two  men,  who,  fortunately,  stood  well 
to  their  work. 

The  gale  kept  up  through  the  afternoon  and  evening  until 
near  midnight,  when  the  weather  cleared  a  little ;  but  an 


Tlie  Bet  real  from  the  Wreck  of  tlie  Proteus.       91 

Lour  later  it  was  again  overcast,  with  every  now  and  then  a 
thick  flurry  of  snow.  Toward  morning  the  wind  moderated, 
and  Colwell,  giving  the  tiller  to  one  of  his  men,  lay  down 
for  two  hours  during  a  heavy  snow-storm.  Breakfast  was 
made  ofE  a  pot  of  tea  and  some  canned  meat,  warmed  by 
burning  alcohol  in  a  tin  can,  and  it  was  the  first  thing  the 
crew  had  eaten  since  starting,  except  bits  of  wet  hard-tack. 

After  breakfast,  the  wind  hauling  to  the  southward  and 
eastward,  Colwell  shook  out  his  reef  and  set  the  mainsail, 
making  an  easterly  course  on  a  wind.  The  sea  was  rough, 
but  did  not  break.  Toward  noon  the  wind  increased,  and 
the  outlook  was  threatening.  Both  sails  were  close-reefed, 
but  soon  it  became  necessary  to  take  in  the  mainsail.  The 
sea  was  now  rising,  and  Colwell  headed  for  a  small  island  in 
sight  to  the  northeast,  but  missed  it  in  a  blinding  snow- 
squall.  When  this  passed  he  found  Ltnself  a  mile  to  lee- 
ward of  the  island,  with  the  sea  too  hea^  v-  \r  pull  against,  and 
he  ran  for  a  line  of  ice  further  on,  and  e  fast  to  a  small 
berg.    This  was  at  three  in  the  afternoon. 

The  second  gale  kept  up  for  nine  hours,  with  constantly 
increasing  wind  and  sea.  Four  times  the  boat  was  cast  off 
to  find  a  safer  place,  as  the  icebergs  broke  or  drifted  down. 
Finally  she  was  made  fast  to  a  flat  berg,  which  lasted  until  the 
gale  was  over,  although  the  breaking  off  of  great  lumps  had 
reduced  it  by  that  time  to  one-third  of  its  former  size.  It 
was  a  fearful  night ;  the  boat  was  filled  with  snow,  and  the 
icebergs  drove  past  her  before  the  gale,  crash  after  crash  re- 
sounding on  all  sides  as  they  ground  together  or  foundered. 
Wliile  the  boat  was  fast,  the  bow  oarsman  had  to  stand  with 
his  axe  ready  to  cut  the  painter.  The  crew,  exhausted  from 
loss  of  sleep  and  sea-sickness,  wet  to  the  skin,  and  covered 


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l!  " 


92 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


■ 


with  snow,  had  sat  for  fourteen  hours  on  *^^he  thwarts  with 
the  oars  out,  ready  to  pull  at  a  moment's  notice,  and  dozed 
over  their  oars  as  they  might.  Soon  after  midnight  Colwell 
h'ghted  his  alcohol  fire  again,  and  warmed  some  bacon  and 
tea,  which,  with  a  little  whisky,  kept  up  his  men's  strength 
during  the  night. 

Toward  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  the  clouds 
broke  and  the  wind  moderated.  The  boat  was  now  near 
Thom  Island.  To  the  north  the  bergs,  driven  together  by 
the  gale,  were  packed  in  a  wall  as  solid  as  a  glacier's  face. 
During  the  forenoon  the  boat  pulled  among  icebergs  against 
a  moderate  head  wind,  and  Colwell  got  a  couple  of  hours' 
rest.  In  the  afternoon,  a  light  northeast  breeze  coming  up, 
he  made  sail  to  it,  during  the  rest  of  the  day,  and  allowed 
his  wearied  men  to  sleep. 

In  the  night  the  wind  increased,  and  hauled  to  the  south. 
Nothing  could  be  made  by  working  to  windward,  and  Col- 
well gave  it  up  and  took  in  sail,  trying  to  pull  to  the  east- 
ward. But  by  morning  the  wind  and  sea  were  tpo  much  for 
the  exhausted  men,  and  Colwell  ran  back  to  a  small  rocky 
islet  which  he  had  passed  some  hours  before,  and  lighting 
an  alcohol  fire,  got  a  meal,  after  which  the  men  stretched 
themselves  on  the  rocks  for  a  nap. 

The  wind  fell  light  a  little  before  noon,  and  the  boat  started 
again.  It  was  now  the  19th  of  August.  For  the  next  three 
days  and  nights  the  party  continued  on  their  way  to  the 
southward,  through  bergs  and  lump  ice,  with  the  Greenland 
coast  generally  in  sight;  sailing  when  the  wind  was  fair, 
which  was  about  half  the  time,  and  during  the  rest  making 
slow  progress  with  the  oars.  Toward  the  close  of  the  22d 
Colwell's  reckonings  placed  him  not  far  from  Upemivik,  but 


The  Retreat  from  the  Wreck  of  the  Protexis.       93 

a  dense  fog  that  had  hung  over  him  all  day  prevented  him 
from  finding  out  exactly  his  position.  At  six  o'clock  on  this 
evening  while  skirting  the  coast,  a  barrel  was  discovered  on 
shore,  and  the  sight  had  an  exhilarating  effect  upon  the  party. 
After  they  had  gone  a  little  way  'wathout  finding  a  settlement, 
they  returned  to  the  spot,  landed,  kindled  a  fire  with  the  bar- 
rel, and  cooked  a  meal  from  the  best  they  had.  After  two 
or  three  hours  of  rest  they  were  again  under  way,  and  at  two 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  they  sighted  a  storehouse, 
which  proved  to  be  on  the  north  side  of  Upernivik. 

Pulling  round  the  island,  the  party  landed  at  five  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  Here  everything  was  done  for  their  com- 
fort. Colwell  found  that  the  other  boats  from  the  Proteus 
had  not  been  heard  from,  and  that  the  Yantio  had  sailed  for 
Disko  the  day  before.  Wishing  to  lose  no  time  in  commu- 
nicating with  Commander  Wildes,  he  would  hear  of  no  delay, 
and,  taking  a  heavy  open  launch  which  the  Governor  of 
Upernivik  urged  him  to  use  in  place  of  the  whale-boat,  at 
three  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  he  started 
soutli  with  his  boat's  crew  for  Disko,  distant  230  miles. 

The  journey  to  Disko  took  seven  days  and  a  half,  the  men 
rowing  most  of  the  way,  although  it  was  hard  work  in  the 
launch  after  the  light  whale-boat.  A  stop  of  a  few  hours  was 
made  at  the  ;  ettlement  of  Proven  to  get  provisions  and  water. 
At  Noursoak  natives  were  employed  to  go  ahead  in  their 
kayaks  with  a  letter  to  AVildes.  Finally,  on  the  Slst,  after  a 
p.'issage  through  Waigat  Strait,  the  launch  arrived  at  Disko, 
and  Colwell  and  his  exhausted  party,  after  their  journey  of 
800  miles,  were  taken  on  board  the  Yantic. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  YanttG  got  under 
way  and  returned  to  Upernivik,  where  she  arrived  on  the  2d 


7\ 

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T/i£  liesGue  of  Greely, 


of  Scptemlicr,  and  found  the  remainder  of  the  expedition, 
which  had  come  in  on  the  day  after  Col  well  had  gone.  The 
junction  which  had  been  barely  missed  so  many  times  on  the 
coast  of  lower  Smith  Sound  was  now  effected  ;  but  the  sea- 
son was  advanced,  and  the  question  of  returning  across  Mel- 
ville Bay  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  the  ex])edition,  if  con- 
sidered, was  decided  adversely ;  and  the  Yaniio  returned  to 
St.  John's. 


91 


CHAPTER  VII. 


WHAT  WAS  TO  BE  DONE  FOR  GREELY  ? 


St.  John's,  N.  F.,  S<^pt.  18.  1883. 

To  CJiicf  Signal  Officer,  U.  8.  A.,  Washington  : 

It  is  my  painful  duty  to  report  total  failure  of  tho  expedition.  The 
Proteus  was  crusiicd  in  pack  in  latitude  78. 53,  longitude  74,2"),  and  .sunk 
on  tho  afternoon  of  the  2'id  July.  My  party  and  crow  of  ship  all  saved. 
JIade  my  %vay  acro.ss  Smith  Sound  and  aloni^  eastern  ahoro  to  ('upo 
York  ;  thence  acrf)S.s  Melville  Bay  to  Upcrnivik,  arriving  there  on  24th 
Aug.  The  Yaiitic  reached  Uperuivik  2d  Sept.  and  left  same  day,  bring- 
ing entire  party  here  to-day.    All  well. 

E.    A.    GAnUNGTON. 

This  was  the  message  that  brought  tlio  first  account  of  tlie 
disastrous  result  of  tho  expedition.  It  said  nothing  of  G reely, 
and  for  the  momtmt  tlic  country  was  left  in  suspense,  await- 
ing further  light  on  the  particulars  of  the  voyage.  Eager  tele- 
grams were  at  once  sent  to  Garlington  from  llie  Signal  Otllco 
asking  what  stores  had  been  placed  for  (i  reely.  The  reply 
was  sent  the  next  day  : 

"  No  stores  landed  before  sinking  of  ship.  Alxiut  five  hundred  rations 
from  those  saved,  cached  at  ('ape  Sublne  ;  also  large  cache  of  clothing. 
By  the  time  suitable  vessels  could  bo  procured,  \\\Wx\,  provi.M!t)'ied,  etc., 
it  would  be  too  late  in  season  to  accomplish  anything  this  year." 

"When  tho  fatal  news  was  received,  and  it  was  learned  not 
only  that  tho  relicrf  ship  had  been  lost,  which  was  a  small 
niatlcr,  but  that  the  wholo  expedition  was  abortive,  that  oidy 
50v)  j-ntions,  or  twenty  days'  provisions,  had  been  landed  from 

(05) 


\i     ] 


1 1 


If 


1 


I: 


|{! 


06 


Ti^e  Jiesctce  of  Greely, 


tlio  Proteus^  there  was  a  general  outburst  of  indignation.  As 
tlie  situation  began  to  be  looked  into  and  pondered  over,  it 
gradually  dawned  upon  the  public  that  the  Lady  Franklin 
Bay  Expedition  had  been  ordered  to  leave  their  well-supplied 
station  by  Sept.  1st ;  that  the  commander  had  signified  his 
intention  of  leaving  it ;  that  it  was  almost  a  certainty  that  at 
that  date,  Sept.  14th,  he  was  on  his  way  south,  confidently 
counting  on  a  supply  depot  and  a  relief  party  which  had 
been  promised  at  Littleton  Island ;  and,  finally,  that  he  was 
destined  shortly  to  arrive  there,  with  little  food,  and  vA\\\  no 
possibility  of  retracing  his  steps,  only  to  find  that  the  Gov- 
ernment had  not  carried  out  its  pledge,  and  that  he  and  his 
command  were  doomed  to  starvation  and  death. 

Unfortunately,  through  a  clerical  error,  the  so-called 
supplementary  memorandum  which,  as  related  in  the  last 
chapter,  had  found  its  way  into  the  envelope  containing  Gar- 
lington's  original  orders,  appeared  from  the  records  of  the 
Signal  Office  to  be  a  specified  enclosure,  and  therefore  part  of 
the  order  itself.  The  memorandum  directed  that  the  Pro- 
teus should  land  her  stores  on  the  way  north ^  and  Garlington 
having,  it  will  be  remembered,  called  the  attention  of  the 
Chief  Signal  Officer,  before  sailing,  to  the  conflict  between 
the  body  of  the  instructions  and  the  memorandum,  had  been 
expressly  told  that  the  latter  "  was  no  part  of  his  orders." 
This  fact  had  never  transpired,  and  in  the  absence  of  the 
Chief  Signal  Officer,  there  being  no  mention  of  it  in  the 
records,  but,  on  tlio  contrary,  a  record  describing  the  memo- 
randum as  "  Enclosure  4  "  of  the  orders  to  Garlington,  the  an- 
nouncement was  made  that  the  commander  of  the  expedition 
lia<l  been  ordcTod  to  land  stores  or  make  a  depot  before  going 
north.  The  inference  was  naturally  drawn  that  Garlington  had 


•V  f- 


)» 


Wlmt  was  to  he  Done  for  Greely? 


97 


disobeyed  his  orders  in  this  particular,  and  that  to  this  diso- 
bedience the  failure  of  the  expedition  was  due  ;  whereas,  in 
point  of  fact,  the  question  of  the  memorandum  had  been  dis- 
tinctly raised,  and  it  had  been  distinctly  excluded  from  his 
orders. 

This  impression  was  subsequently  corrected,  but  a  long 
and  comprehensive  inquiry  was  necessary  to  thread  the  in- 
tricacies in  which  the  subject  was  involved,  and  clear  up  the 
confusion  wrought  in  the  public  mind  by  the  great  number 
and  variety  of  statements  made  in  reference  to  the  expedi- 
tion. The  findings  of  the  subsequent  Court  of  Inquiry  form 
no  part  of  the  present  narrative,  and  no  reference  is  made  to 
them  by  way  of  either  dissent  or  concurrence,  further  than 
to  quote  from  them  an  apt  statement  of  the  net  results  of  the 
efforts  to  relieve  Greely, — that  "  from  July,  1882,  to  August, 
1883,  not  less  than  50,000  rations  were  taken  in  the  steamers 
Neptune^  Yantic,  and  Proteus  up  to  or  beyond  Littleton 
Island,  and  of  that  number  only  about  1,000  were  left  in  that 
vicinity,  the  remainder  being  returned  to  the  United  States 
or  sunk  with  the  Proteus.''^ 

Long  before  the  question  of  responsibility  was  examined, 
indeed  on  the  very  day  uj^on  which  Garlington's  first  dis- 
patch was  received,  the  more  pressing  question  was  consid- 
ered of  taking  immediate  measures  to  repair  the  disaster.  It 
was  with  this  view  that  the  officers  at  the  Signal  Office  on  that 
day  telegraphed  Garlington  an  inquiry  whether  anything 
more  could  bo  done  this  year,  to  which  he  replied,  in  liis 
second  telegram  quoted  above,  tliat  l>y  the  time  suitable  ves- 
sels could  bo  procured,  filled,  and  provisioned,  it  would  bo  too 
late  in  the  season  toaccomplinh  anytliiiifz:.  Not  satisfied  with 
this,  the  Secretaries  of  War  and  of  the  Navy,  both  of  whom 
7 


n 


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^^^H   ')^H 

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Kill 

ii,    : 

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li 


98 


T/ie  J^escite  of  Greely. 


now  had  an  interest  in  the  matter,  directed  that  further  in- 
quiry should  be  made  as  to  the  feasibihty  of  starting  an  ex- 
pedition immediately.  Lieutenant  Garlington  replied  :  "  The 
ultimate  result  of  any  undertaking  to  go  north  at  this  time 
cxtromoly  problematical ;  chances  against  its  success,  owing 
to  dark  nights  now  begun  in  those  regions,  making  ice  navi- 
gation extremely  critical  work.  There  is  no  safe  winter  an- 
chorage on  west  shore  of  Greenland  between  Disko  and  Pan- 
dora Harbor,  except  perhaps  North  Star  Bay,  winter-quar- 
ters of  Saunders.  However,  there  is  a  bare  chance  of  suc- 
cess, and  if  my  recommendations  are  approved,  I  am  ready 
ai-d  anxious  to  make  tlu^  effort.  My  plan  is  to  buy  a  suitable 
sealer,  take  the  crew  from  volunteers  from  crews  of  Yantio 
and  Powhatan^  now  in  this  harbor,  paying  them  extra  com- 
pensation. Lieutenant  J.  C.  Col  well  to  command  the  ship ; 
two  Ensigns  and  one  Engineer  to  be  taken  from  those  who 
may  volunteer  from  same  ship ;  also  employ  competent  ice- 
pilot  hero." 

On  the  15th  Commander  Wildes  telegraphed  in  answer 
to  the  same  inquiry,  as  follows :  "  To  charter  another  foreign 
ship  with  foreign  crew  for  this  duty  to  go  north  at  this  late 
season  would  simply  invite  fresh  disaster.  Proteus  handled 
very  unskillfully,  and  crew  behaved  shamefully  at  wreck. 
Ship  must  be  American-manned,  and  officered  by  Navy,  and 
thoroughly  equipped.  Unless  winter-quarters  can  bo  reached 
north  of  Cape  Athol,  the  attempt  would  bo  useless.  This 
can  not  bo  done.  Melville  Bay  will  bo  impassable  by  October 
1,  at  latest.  Sliip  can  not  winter  at  TJperiiivik,  and  can  not 
sledge  north  from  there," 

The  Chief  Signal  Officer  sent  six  telegrams  from  WaHliing- 
ton  Territory,  where  he  happened  to  be  at  the  time,  suggest- 


Whai  was  to  he  Done  for  Grccly? 


99 


ing  a  new  expedition,  and  earnestly  advocating  immediate 
action,  being  of  the  opinion  that  there  was  still  time  to  repair 
tlie  failure.  Chief  Engineer  Melville,  of  the  Navy,  about  the 
Game  time,  submitted  a  plan  for  a  relief  expedition,  proposing 
to  accomplish  part  of  the  journey  in  the  YantiCj  and  the 
rest  by  sledge.  Others,  however,  whose  experience  entitled 
their  opinion  to  weight,  among  them  Dr.  Laws,  the  surgeon 
of  the  Relief  Expedition  of  1855,  and  Tyson,  who  was  with 
Hall  in  the  Polaris^  were  decided  in  the  conviction  that  an 
expedition  at  that  time  would  only  lead  to  fresh  disaster. 
After  repeated  consultations  with  the  most  competent  and 
experienced  advisers,  the  Secretaries  decided  that  it  would 
not  only  be  useless  to  make  any  attempt  that  year,  but  that 
the  probabilities  were  that  those  who  were  sent  on  such  a 
mission  would  find  themselves  in  a  situation  as  bad  as  Greely's. 
The  idea  was  therefore  abandoned. 

The  information  gained  at  the  Greenland  ports  by  the 
Relief  Expedition  of  1884,  proves  beyond  a  doubt  that  this 
conclusion  was  right.  Had  a  ship  gone  up  in  the  latter  part 
of  September,  1883,  she  would  either  have  been  stopped  at 
DIsko,  or  have  been  frozen  up  for  eight  months  in  the  ice  of 
Melville  Bay.  The  cold  weather  set  in  about  the  2lBt  of 
September,  and  the  temperature  steadily  fell  at  Disko,  Upor- 
nivik,  and  Tassuisak,  until  00°  below  zero  was  reached.  This 
continued  for  a  period  of  sixty  consecutive  days.  Melville 
J3ay,  as  far  as  could  bo  seen  from  these  three  points,  was 
frozen  over  early  in  October.  As  the  season  of  continual 
darkness  had  come  on  by  this  time,  navigation  would  have 
been  well-nigh  impossible,  even  if  the  bay  had  been  fairly 
open;  and  the  project  of  reaching  the  party  by  sledges, 
must  bo  regarded  as  utterly  chimerical.     Under  the  circuni- 


1 

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l  - 

m 


;     :?1 


J 


100 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Gredy. 


stances,  any  vessel  attempting  the  voyage  would  have  come 
to  grief,  if  she  had  not  been  totally  lost. 

The  idea  of  an  immediate  expedition  having  been  reluc- 
tantly given  up  as  impracticable,  the  next  question  was  to 
consider  carefully  the  probable  situation  of  Lieutenant  Greely 
and  his  command,  and  to  prepare  a  well-digested  plan  of 
operations  for  the  coming  summer. 

In  regard  to  Greely's  situation  in  October,  1883,  it  was 
known  that  a  little  more  than  two  years  before,  in  August, 
1881,  he  had  been  landed  at  Discovery  Harbor  with  a  full 
supply  of  provisions  for  three  years,  with  a  considerable  mar- 
gin over.  He  was  therefore  amply  provided  with  the  means 
of  subsistence,  if  he  remained  at  the  station.  He  had,  however, 
been  directed  in  the  original  instructions  of  ^,he  Signal  Office,  if 
not  visited  in  1882,  to  abandon  his  statioi  not  lat«r  than 
September  1,  1883,  and  to  retreat  southward  by  boat,  follow- 
ing closely  the  east  coast  of  Grinnell  Land,  "  until  the  re- 
lieving vessel  is  met  or  Littleton  Island  is  reached."  He  had 
been  assured  in  the  same  letter  that,  if  no  vessel  reached  him 
in  1882,  the  vessel  sent  in  1883  would  remain  in  Smith 
Sound  until  there  was  danger  of  its  being  closed  by  ice,  and 
on  leaving  would  land  her  supplies  on  Littleton  Island,  to- 
gether with  a  party  which  would  be  prepared  for  a  winter'i 
stay,  and  would  be  instructed  to  send  sledge  parties  up  t'.:e 
east  coast  of  Grinnell  Land  to  meet  him.  Finally  he  had  not 
only  concurred  in  all  the  arrangements,  but  had  written  a 
letter  from  Fort  Conger  giving  his  last  suggestions  for  the 
party  which  was  to  be  left  at  Littleton  Island,  saying  that 
they  should  "  establish  a  winter  station  at  Polaris  winter 
quarters.  Lifeboat  Cove,  wlioro  their  main  duty  would  be 
to  keep  their  telescopes  on  Cape  Sabine  and  the  land  to  the 


h  v 


;e; 


What  was  to  he  Done  for  Oreely? 


101 


northward";  and  further,  that  a  detacliment  "should  pro- 
ceed, when  practicable,  to  Cape  Sabine,  whence  a  sledge  party 
northward  of  two  best  fitted  men  should  reach  Cape  Hawks,  if 
not  Cape  Colhnson."  Depots  were  to  be  made,  by  the  first  ex- 
pedition, at  the  furthest  possible  northern  point  on  the  coast 
of  Grinnell  Land,  and  at  Littleton  Island ;  by  the  second  ex- 
pedition, between  Cape  Sabine  and  Bache  Island,  and  at  some 
point  intermediate  between  depots  already  established. 

It  was  perfectly  clear  from  this  what  Greely  intended  to 
do,  and  what  in  the  absence  of  preventing  causes,  in  all 
probability  he  had  done.  He  intended  to  leave  Fort  Conger 
in  1883,  and  go  southward  to  his  main  base  of  supplies  at 
Littleton  Island.  He  also  proposed  to  line  the  shore  with 
smaller  depots,  placed  at  intervals,  so  that  he  could  find,  at 
each  successive  point,  enough  to  sustain  his  party  until  the 
next  was  reached.  How  far  he  would  progress  on  this 
downward  trip  was  a  matter  of  uncertainty,  and  he  counted 
upon  the  relief  party  to  come  up  and  meet  him  in  case  he 
was  for  any  reason  detained  between  Cape  CoUinson  and 
Cape  Sabine.  There  was  little  doubt,  therefore,  in  the  fall 
of  1883,  that  Greely  had  carried  out  his  programme,  left 
Foii;  Conger,  and  proceeded  south.  The  only  uncertain 
element  in  the  (^uestion  was  how  far  he  had  been  able  to  go. 

In  order  to  reach  Littleton  Island  he  would  have  to  travel 
2G3  miles.  His  party  consisted  of  twenty-five,  and  he  had 
taken  up  with  him  a  Navy  steam-launch,  and  three  other 
boats,  suitable  for  navigation  in  Arctic  waters.  There  were 
also  two  boats  of  which,  in  case  of  necessity,  he  could  avail 
himself ;  one  an  ice-boat  left  by  the  Nares  expedition  at 
Polaris  Bay,  twonty-eiglit  miles  from  his  camp,  and  the  other 
a  whale-boat,  left  by  the  Polaris  near  Cape  Sumner,  thirty- 


i 


■lj:{i 


!{    'I 


m 

•  It, 


n   i 


h^ 


if     si 


102 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


eight  miles  off.  The  most  favorable  season  for  boat  naviga- 
tion, or,  as  far  a-'  t^at  is  concerned,  for  any  navigation,  in 
Kennedy  Channel  and  Kane  Sea,  is  during  the  month  of 
August,  and  it  was  therefore  probable  that  the  expedition 
would  move  at  this  time. 

The  distribution  of  depots  on  the  way  down,  as  far  as  was 
known,  was  not  all  that  Greely  had  planned  or  asked  for, 
but  it  was  still  fairly  complete,  unless  he  met  with  some  ex- 
traordinary misadventure.  The  longest  interval  was  the  first, 
of  75  miles,  between  Camp  Conger  and  Carl  Ritter  Bay.  It 
turned  out  afterwards  that  Greely  himself,  with  the  careful 
forethought  that  distinguished  his  arrangements,  had  reduced 
this  gap  by  making  a  depot  at  Cape  Cracroft,  an  intennediate 
point  -wfcich  he  could  reach  from  his  station.  At  Carl  Rittev 
Bay,  the  next  point,  Greely  had  estaljlished  a  depot  of  225 
rations,  or  nine  days'  supply,  on  his  way  up  in  the  Prrieus. 
Sixty-two  miles  beyond,  at  Cape  Collinson,  was  the  Nares 
depot,  of  250  rations.  Following  the  western  shore  of  Kane 
Sea,  the  fourth  depot  was  to  be  found  at  Cape  Hawks.  This 
had  been  made  by  Nares,  and  had  originally  consisted  of 
1,500  rations,  but  the  Alert  and  Discovery  had  taken  off 
most  of  the  stores  on  their  return  trip,  and  the  quantity  left 
was  not  grea'-.,  perhaps  eight  or  ten  days'  rations.  Greely  had 
visited  it  on  the  way  up,  and  had  taken  from  it  an  inconsider- 
able quantity  of  stores.  At  Cape  Sabine,  fifty-three  miles 
further,  were  several  depots,  rouojhly  estimated  as  amounting 
to  1,000  rations  in  Jl,  or  forty  days'  supply,  if  they  were  all 
well  preserved.  They  were  in  three  caches.  That  of  tlio 
Englisli  expedition  on  Stalknecht  Island  in  Payer  Harbor 
consisted  of  250  rations,  which  Beebe  had  reported  as  being 
for  the  most  part  good,  but  which  were  subsequently  found 


1 


What  was  to  he  Doiu^  for  Grcehj  f 


103 


to  be  damaged.  The  Beebe  cache  contained  about  250  ra- 
tions, with  a  whale-boat,  and  one-eightli  of  a  cord  of  wood. 
This  Garhugton  had  found  in  good  condition,  except  a 
shght  injury  to  the  boat.  The  third  cache  was  composed 
of  the  provisions  rescued  by  Colwell  from  the  wreck  of  the 
Proteus^  estimated  at  500  rations. 

South  of  Cape  Sabine  there  were  tliree  depots.  At  Little- 
ton Island,  twenty-thrue  miles  distant,  on  the  opposite  shore  of 
Smith  Sound,  was  the  second  Beebe  cache  of  250  rations,  and 
six  tons  of  coal,  placed  there  by  Greely.  At  Cape  Isabella, 
twenty-five  miles  from  Cape  Sabine,  was  Beebe's  second 
whale-boat,  together  with  150  pounds  of  meat  left  by  the 
English  expedition.  Finally,  at  Southeast  Cary  Island,  one 
hundred  miles  to  the  southward,  was  the  largest  dc^t  of  idi, 
also  made  by  Kares,  with  1,800  rations  and  a  boat,  which  had 
])een  examined  both  by  Greely  and  Garlington,  and  which 
were  still  good  when  visited  by  the  Bear  in  1884. 

As  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition  was  an  Army  or- 
ganization, it  belonged  to  the  AVar  Department  to  take  the 
initial  steps  looking  to  its  relief,  whoever  might  ultimately 
be  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  project.  Accordingly, 
on  the  13th  of  December,  Secretary  Lincoln  addressed  a 
letter  to  Secretary  Chandler,  asking  the  co-operation  of  the 
Navy  Department  in  considering  and  carrying  out  a  plan. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  responded  ]iromptly,  and  within 
a  week  the  President  issued  an  order,  constituting  the  Greely 
Relief  Board.  This  was  the  first  step  in  the  history  of  the 
final  expedition.     The  order  was  as  follows : 

Executive  Mansion,  December  17,  1S83. 

TJjo  following-named  ofTlccrs  of  the  Army  nnd  Nnvy  will  constitute  a 
lioard  to  consider  an  expedition  to  be  sent  for  the  relief  of  Lieutenant 


':     i- 

1 

iH'  ]  Id 

II !  1 

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n   tj 

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H 

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Mv;  |i 

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B9 

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E^ 

104 


The  Meseue  of  Gredy. 


Greely  and  his  party,  comprising  what  is  known  as  the  Lady  Frank- 
lin Buy  Expedition,  and  to  recommend  to  tlie  Secretaries  of  War  and  the 
Xiivy,  jointly,  the  steps  the  Iward  may  c  ..ecessary  to  he  taken  for 

the  equipment  and  transportation  of  the  icLy...  expedition,  and  to  suggest 
such  plan  for  its  control  and  conduct,  and  for  the  organization  of  its  per- 
sonnel, as  may  seem  to  them  best  adapted  to  accomplish  its  purpose  : 
Brigadier-General  William  B.  Hazen,  Chief  Signal  Officer,  U.  S.  Army; 
Captain  James  A.  Greeu,  U.  S.  Navy  ;  Lieutenant-Commander  B.  II. 
McCalla,  U.  S.  Navy  ;  Captain  George  W.  Davis,  14th  Infantry,  U. 
S.  Army. 
The  board  will  meet  in  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  20th  instant. 

Chester  A.  Arthur. 


The  Board  met  on  the  20th  of  December,  and  remained  in 
session  until  January  22,  1881,  when  its  final  report  was 
presented,  although  it  did  not  formally  adjourn  until  Febru- 
ary 2l8t.  On  the  second  day  of  its  meetings,  it  presented  a 
preliminary  recommendation,  that  immediate  steps  should 
be  taken  to  secure,  by  purchase,  two  full-powered  steam 
whalers  or  sealers,  and  to  prepare  them  for  service  in  the 
Arctic.  It  was  also  recommended  that  a  naval  vessel  should 
be  prepared  to  act  as  a  tender  to  the  expedition. 

Three  general  plans  were  laid  before  the  Board  at  the  be- 
ginning. The  first,  presented  by  Lieutenant  Garlington, 
proposed  the  purchase  of  a  steam-whaler  as  a  relief  ship,  and 
the  selection  of  a  convoying  vessel  from  the  list  of  third-rate 
cruisers  in  the  Navy.  The  plan  submitted  included  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  expedition  should  be  commanded  by  Lieuten- 
ant Garlington,  and  the  relief  ship  by  Lieutenant  Colwell. 
The  commander  of  the  convoying  vessel  was  not  designated. 
The  relief  ship  was  to  be  pushed  forward  at  the  opening  of 
the  season,  and  to  land  a  party  at  Cape  York,  which  would 
proceed  north  by  sledge,  if  it  was  learned  that  the  explorers 
had  arrived  on  tlie  Greenland  coast,  meeting  the  relief  ship 


What  was  to  he  Done  for  Greelyf 


105 


at  Pandora  Harbor.  If  no  tidings  were  obtained  at  Cape 
York,  the  ship  should  proceed  to  Littleton  Island,  and  thence 
to  Cape  Sabine,  where  a  large  depot  should  be  established, 
and  a  sledge  party  be  sent  north,  to  be  followed  by  the  ship 
as  soon  as  the  ice  permitted.  The  convoying  ship  was  to 
have  positive  orders  to  proceed  as  far  north  as  Cape  Sabine, 
and  her  movements  were  to  be  regulated  by  "  the  discretion 
of  the  commanding  officers."  In  addition  to  the  general 
plan,  many  details  of  importance  were  provided  for. 

The  second  plan,  presented  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
McCalla,  proposed  a  purely  naval  expedition,  the  ships  com- 
posing it  to  consist  of  two  purchased  sealers  or  whalers,  with 
a  naval  vessel  as  a  tender.  The  first  vessel  should  make  a 
complete  depot  at  Littleton  Island  before  proceeding  north, 
with  house,  coal,  provisions,  and  clothing  for  the  whole  party 
for  a  year.  If  the  explorers  were  not  found  after  a  search 
of  the  shores  of  Smith  Sound,  the  ship  should  advance  to 
Lady  Franklin  Bay,  or  as  far  as  possible  in  that  direction, 
while  the  second  vessel  should  be  used  as  a  reserve,  going 
north  of  Kane  Sea  only  in  case  the  fij^t  should  be  lost  or  her 
absence  be  prolonged.  The  tender  was  to  proceed  to  Little- 
ton Island,  to  bring  back  news  of  the  expedition,  and  in  case 
of  a  general  disaster  to  serve  as  a  second  reserve. 

The  third  plan,  presented  by  Captain  Davis,  was  to  some 
extent  a  middle  course  between  the  other  two,  and  provided 
for  a  whaler  as  the  relief  ship,  with  a  naval  tender,  the  whole 
expedition  to  be  in  command  of  a  naval  officer,  and  the 
officers  and  crew  proper  of  each  ship  to  be  from  the 
personnel  of  tho  Kavy.  Each  vessel  was  also  to  carry  a 
detachment  from  the  Army,  composed  of  two  officers,  a 
doctor,  and  ten  enlisted  men.  This  plan,  like  the  others, 
presented  several  excellent  features  of  detail. 


irl 


! 


106 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Greely. 


U 


In  considering  these  and  other  plans,  several  of  which  were 
subsequently  offered,  the  Board  consulted  a  number  of  per- 
sons having  Arctic  experience,  who  appeared  at  its  invitation, 
and  gave  it  the  benefit  of  their  observation  and  experience. 
Among  these  were  Lieutenants  Garlington  and  Colwell ;  Dr. 
Bessels  and  Captain  Tyson,  of  the  Polaris  expedition ;  Mr. 
George  Kennan,  who  had  passed  several  years  in  north- 
eastern Siberia;  Chief  Engineer  Melville  and  Lieutenant 
Danenhower,  of  the  Jeannette ;  Lieutenant  Ray,  who  com- 
manded the  station  at  Point  Barrow ;  Lieutenants  Berry  and 
Hunt,  of  the  Bodgers  /  and  Captain  Pike,  of  the  Proteus. 
Advice  and  suggestions  were  also  asked  from  Sir  George 
Nares,  Captain  Markham,  and  Major  Feilden,  who  had  served 
in  the  Alert  in  1875,  and  an  elaborate  and  extremely  valuable 
memorandum  was  drawn  up  by  these  officers  for  the  use  of 
the  Board. 

After  making  a  most  complete  and  thorough  examination, 
the  Board,  on  the  22d  of  January,  1884,  presented  its  report, 
containing  a  plan  for  the  expedition.  Although  there  was 
every  reason  to  suppose  that  Greely  and  his  party  had  left 
their  station,  and  had  probably  succeeded  in  reaching  Smith 
Sound,  either  at  Cape  Sabine  or  Littleton  Island,  it  was 
necessary  to  aissume  that  they  might  have  remained  in  their 
quarters,  and  to  provide  for  a  cruise  extending  to  Lady 
Franklin  Bay.  As  this  might  involve  detention  in  the  ice 
until  another  season,  the  expedition  must  be  prepared  for  a 
winter  in  the  Arctic.  By  way  of  making  assurance  doubly 
sure,  it  was  recommended  that  the  expedition  should  r«/nsist 
of  two  vessels,  each  supplied  for  a  cruise  of  two  years,  not 
only  for  its  own  crew,  but  also  for  that  of  the  other  ship,  and 
for  the  Greely  party  besides.    The  best  ships  for  the  work 


th 


WJiat  was  to  he  Done  for  Greelyf 


107 


were  the  Dundee  whalers,  or  the  Newfoundland  sealers,  of 
from  500  to  600  tons,  two  of  which  should  be  purchased  im- 
mediately, and  brought  to  a  navy-yard  to  be  fitted  out.  In 
view  of  the  possibility  of  delay  in  securing  or  getting  ready 
these  vessels,  it  might  be  advisable  to  use  a  third  ship  for  an 
early  advance,  in  order  that  by  taking  greater  risks  than  the 
two  others,  it  might  be  enabled,  if  the  party  had  reached 
Smith  Sound  or  the  Danish  settlemeots,  to  effect  an  early 
rescue.  A  naval  vessel  was  also  to  be  provided  to  go  to 
Littleton  Island,  and  return  the  same  year.  The  advance 
vessel  was  not  deemed  an  essential  part  of  the  plan,  and  in 
fact  no  such  vessel  was  employed  ;  nor,  as  the  result  showed, 
would  it  have  been  of  any  use,  for  the  first  of  the  rehef  ves- 
sels, although  starting  a  week  in  advance,  was  overtaken  by 
the  second  at  Uperuivik,  having  been  unible  to  get  beyond 
that  point  in  the  heavy  ice  still  covering  Melville  Bay. 

As  the  work  of  the  relief  expedition  was  to  be  of  a  nautical 
character,  the  Board  recommended  that  its  control  should  be 
entrusted  to  the  Navy  Department.  The  crews  were  re- 
duced to  a  minimum,  in  order  to  give  abundant  air-space  in 
case  of  wintering  at  the  north.  The  total  complement  of 
each  ship  was  fixed  at  thii-ty-four  persons,  the  preference 
being  given  to  Americans,  and  all  being  subjected  to  a  rigor- 
ous medical  examination. 

A  general  programme  was  marked  out  for  the  relief  ships, 
but  chiefly  by  way  of  suggestion.  The  problem  of  reaching 
Lady  Franklin  Bay  from  Cape  Sabine  was  one  that  could 
only  be  solved  by  sound  judgment  and  good  seamanship ; 
unless  indeed  it  should  happen  that  Kane  Sea  was  nearly 
free  from  ice,  in  which  case  it  was  a  comparatively  simple 
matter.  It  was,  therefore,  recognized  that  a  wide  discretion 
must  be  given  to  the  commanding  officer  on  the  spot. 


4 


•  i 


P 


t     ii 


\  \ 


108 


The  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


The  Board  considered  carefully  the  details  of  Arctic 
equipment,  clothing,  and  stores,  and  made  full  and  valuable 
recommendations.  The  information  which  it  collected,  and 
the  suggestions  which  it  made  in  reference  to  these  matters 
were  afterwards  of  incalculable  service  in  fitting  out  the  ex- 
pedition. 

The  report  of  the  Board  was  unanimous  upon  all  the 
points  mentioned,  but  it  was  unable  to  come  to  an  agree- 
ment in  regard  to  the  question  whether  or  not  a  detachment 
from  the  Army  should  accompany  the  expedition.  As 
opinion  was  equally  divided,  separate  memoranda  containing 
the  views  of  both  sides  were  submitted  with  the  report,  one 
advocating  the  employment  of  a  detachment  of  enlisted  men 
from  the  Army,  the  other  that  the  expedition  should  be  ex- 
clusively naval. 

The  latter  view  was  that  approved  by  the  two  Secretaries, 
and  finally  carried  out.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  theory  upon  which  this  decision  was  based. 
The  work  of  the  relief  expedition  of  1884 — and  for  that 
matter,  of  all  the  lelief  expeditions — was  as  purely  nautical 
as  any  work  that  was  ever  entrusted  to  a  seaman.  More 
than  this,  the  whole  issue  of  the  work,  the  ultimate  question 
of  success  or  failure,  depended  primarily  upon  seamanship. 
Nor  was  tli(>rc  any  possible  contingency  which  would  require 
in  the  personnel  of  the  expedition  qualities  or  experience 
other  than  those  which  sonmen  will  bo  found  to  ]ios8esa  at 
least  equally  with  soldiers.  It  was  not  an  expedition  like 
Grcely's,  which  was  to  remain  at  a  permiincut  station  making 
observations  and  explorations  from  its  base,  either  on  the 
land  or  close  by  it;  nor  was  it  in  anyway  similar  to  tho 
wonderful  enterj)rise  wliich  Lieutenant  Schwatku  undertook 
and  carried  to  a  successful  completion. 


What  was  to  he  Done  for  Greely? 


109 


Even  in  the  case  of  Grcoly's  expedition,  however,  it  was 
stated  by  the  survivors  on  board  the  Thetis  on  their  way  home, 
that  in  their  retreat  from  Lady  Franklin  Bay  they  had  felt  the 
lack  of  men  accustomed  to  the  management  of  boats,  and 
that  if  they  had  had  one  or  two  seamen,  their  chances  would 
have  been  better,  aad  the  result  might  have  been  different. 
In  the  relief  expedition  of  1884,  as  it  turned  out,  a  detach- 
ment from  the  Army  on  board  the  ships,  where  there  was 
little  room  to  spare,  and  where  every  man  was  incessantly 
employed,  would  have  found  nothing  to  occupy  them  from 
the  time  they  left  New  York  until  they  landed  on  their 
return. 

Before  the  adoption  of  its  final  report,  the  Board  made  a 
preliminary  statement  of  the  requirements  of  the  new  expe- 
dition, and  on  January  17th  a  letter  was  addressed  to  the 
President  by  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  embodying  its  recommendations,  which  were  in  a 
brief  form  those  afterward  elaborated  in  the  report.  The 
Navy  Department  was  to  have  charge  of  the  expedition,  and 
it  was  to  be  on  the  ground  at  the  earliest  possible  time.  As 
no  vessel  was  known  to  have  passed  Cape  York  earlier  than 
June  Ist,  the  expedition  should  leave  New  York  by  May  1st, 
and  Upernivik  by  May  20th.  To  accomplish  this  the  necessary 
vessels  should  be  obtained  immediately. 

The  letter  of  January  17th,  from  the  two  Secretaries,  was 
transmitted  to  Congress  by  the  President  on  the  same  day,  with 
a  special  message  urging  pr(»m])t  action  to  enable  the  Dcpart- 
nii'nts  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  relief.  The  message  was 
referred  in  the  House  to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations, 
and  on  the  21st,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  Mr.  K.m- 
dall,  submitted  a  joint  resolution,  accompanied  by  a  favorable 
report.     The  resolution  was  as  follows  : 


1! 
I 


I 


) 


i 


1  I 


•1 


E<\ 


110 


The  Eescue  of  Grecly. 


:Jl 


;i 


Resolved,  That  the  President  be,  and  is  hereby,  nuthon/cd  to  prepare 
and  dispatcli  an  expedition  to  the  coast  of  Greenland,  Smith  Sound,  or 
Lady  Franklin  Bay,  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  and  bringing  liomo 
Lieutenant  A.  W.  Grecly  and  party,  and  that  for  this  purpose  the  pur- 
chase of  not  exceeding  three  vessels  is  authorized,  and  all  expenditures 
necessary  for  manning,  equipping,  and  supplying  them,  and  for  any  laud 
journeys  wliicli  may  be  required,  and  such  sums  as  may  be  necessary  to 
cITect  the  object  of  this  resolution  arc  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any 
moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated  ;  the  vessels  purchased 
to  be  sold  after  their  return  and  the  money  arising  from  such  sale  covered 
into  the  Treasury. 

And  the  President  shall  submit  to  Congress  on  the  first  Monday  of 
December,  1884,  a  full  and  detailed  account  of  all  expenditures  and 
outlays  made  on  account  of  this  appropriation. 

Tlio  resolution  was  exceptional  in  its  cliaractcr,  in  makinf^ 
an  appropriation  without  any  B})ccific  limit,  but  upon  Mr. 
Randall's  statement  that  it  was  thought  unwise  to  restrict  the 
appropriation  to  a  fixed  sum,  the  resolution  was  passed  by 
the  House  almost  without  debate,  on  January  22d. 

Two  days  later  it  was  discussed  in  the  Senate.  Much  was 
said  in  condemnation  of  Arctic  expeditions  in  general,  and 
of  the  relief  expedition  of  1883  in  particular.  The  necessity 
for  a  relief  party  was  admitted  on  all  sides,  and  the  op])ositiori 
narrowed  itself  down  to  the  question  of  making  an  unlimited 
appropriation.  It  was  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Hale,  who  had 
charge  of  the  resolution,  that  it  was  impossible  to  fix  an  esti- 
mate of  cost;  that  if  it  were  fixed  too  low  it  might  result  in 
failure,  and  that  a  very  high  estimate  would  only  have  the 
cfTect  of  raising  prices  for  the  vessels,  of  which  there  were 
only  a  small  number  available  in  existonce;  and  iinnlly,  that 
an  aTuendment  would  delay  the  resolution,  and  perhaps  ])ut 
back  the  whole  expedition,  when  every  day  was  important. 
Several  amendments  M'cre  ])ro])()sed  and  lost,  fi.xing  limits 
between  half  a  million  and  a  million  of  dollars.     Finally  the 


■  <    ! 

II 


What  was  to  he  Done  for  Gvcehjf 


111 


resolution  was  passed,  witli  an  amendment  restricting  tlie 
personnel  of  the  expedition  to  such  as  volunteered  for  tlic 
service. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  duty  was  not  one  of  scientllic 
exploration,  but  for  the  relief  and  rescue  of  Governiiieiit 
officers,  whose  lives  were  in  peril,  it  would  seem  to  have  conic 
within  the  limits  of  legitimate  service  in  the  Army  or  Navy, 
for  which  any  one  might  reasonably  be  called  on,  witliout 
confining  the  executive  to  volunteers.  Besides,  all  history 
shows  that  for  any  work  of  peril  or  hardship,  however  ap- 
palling, both  the  Army  and  the  Navy  have  always  been  ready 
to  furnish  far  more  volunteers  than  were  needed,  men  who 
were  willing  and  eager  to  go  on  any  forlorn  hope,  and  the 
small  number  required  for  the  service  would  undoubtedly  l)e 
Bolected  from  among  these,  so  that  the  question  was  not  one 
of  groat  practical  importance.  In  short,  its  decision  one  way 
or  the  other  would  not  have  made  any  change  in  what  was 
actually  done.  Each  House,  however,  insisted  on  its  view 
of  the  matter,  and  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight,  during  which 
there  were  repeated  discussions,  and  two  ineffectual  con- 
ferences, the  resolution  was  in  the  same  situation  as  when  it 
had  first  passed  the  Senate. 

It  was  now  called  up  anew  by  Senator  Hale,  who,  with 
Mr.  Randall,  had  all  along  been  indefatigable  in  pushing  it 
forward,  with  every  probability  that  the  Senate  would  at 
length  recede  from  its  amendment,  when  a  ])arlianu>ntary 
dilliculty  presented  itself  in  the  fact  that  the  resolutioi', 
although  bodily  in  the  possession  of  the  Senate,  the  engrossed 
copy  being  on  the  presiding  oflicer's  desk,  was  not  technically 
before  it,  the  House  not  having  reported  any  action  U])on  the 
last  conferonco.     This  led  to  u  prolonged  debate  as  to  whether 


! 


t 


)1 


I 


:: 


'W 


«l 


112 


The  liesGue  of  Greely. 


■ 


any  action  at  all  could  be  taken  on  the  resolution  in  its  pres- 
ent situation,  and  if  not,  how  the  difficulty  should  be 
obviated,  so  that  the  resolution  might  either  be  returned 
bodily  to  the  House  or  brought  technically  before  the 
Senate.  Another  delay  seemed  imminent,  and  led  the 
Senator  in  charge  of  the  bill  to  express  ironically,  in  the 
course  of  the  discussion,  the  hope  that  if  Greely  and  his  fol- 
lowers were  to  be  left  to  perish  they  might  die  in  a  parlia- 
mentary manner.  The  knot  was  untied  by  sending  back 
the  resolution  informally  to  the  House,  which  returned  it 
three  days  later,  with  a  message  insisting  on  its  disagree- 
ment. The  Senate  thereupon  receded  from  its  amendment, 
and  on  the  13th  of  February  the  resolution  was  approved. 


CHAPTER  yill. 


THE    PREPARATIONfl. 


Some  time  before  the  Joint  Resolution  was  passed,  the 
Secretary  of  War  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  acting 
conjointly,  had  taken  steps  looking  to  the  acquisition  of  suit- 
able vessels.  No  dependence  could  be  placed  upon  the 
Naval  fleet,  which  was  totally  unfitted  for  ice-navigation. 
To  assign  a  vessel  of  the  Navy  to  the  work  would  only  be  to 
repeat  the  experience  of  the  Yantic,  with  a  greater  prob- 
ability of  failure,  as  the  ice  would  be  entered  much  earlier  in 
the  season.  It  was  indispensable  that  vessels  should  be  taken 
which  had  been  built  directly  for  the  purpose. 

The  only  vessels  in  the  world  answering  this  description 
are  the  sealers  and  whalers  of  Dundee  and  St.  John's.  They 
are  given  steam-power  to  enable  them  to  go  into  the  ice, 
while  the  American  whaler.^,  which  cruise  to  Behring  Strait, 
use  their  steam-power  to  keep  out  of  it.  The  first  ai'e 
distinctively  ice-ships,  the  second  open-water  ships.  The 
structure  of  the  Dundee  whalers  is  entirely  directed  to  cfii- 
ciency  in  navigation  under  the  exceptional  conditions  pre- 
vailing in  Bafiin  Buy.  The  hull  is  built  of  wood,  on  account 
of  its  greater  elasticity  when  squeezed  by  the  ice  pressure. 
It  is  covered  with  a  sheathing  of  ironwood  to  prevxuit  abrasion 
from  tlio  jagged  edges  of  the  pack  when  forcing  through 
broken  floos,  or  breaking  a  way  through  bars  into  leads. 
The  Bcrew-propellor  must  be  two-l)liule(i,  and  so  fitted  that 
8  013) 


114 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


rl 


it  may  be  hoisted  up  in  case  of  a  nip,  or  when  the  ship  is 
stationary,  and  the  ice  streaming  by  with  the  current.  The 
stem  must  be  protected  by  a  broad  guard  of  iron  bolted 
througli,  and  the  bow  must  be  covered  with  iron  plates  ex- 
tending well  aft,  to  withstand  the  heavy  shocks  in  ramming, 
or  in  smaf^hing  through  floe-ice.  Without  this  precaution  the 
grinding  pack  would  soon  tear  off  the  bow  planking.  Final- 
ly, both  ends  of  the  ship  must  have  interior  water-tight  bulk- 
heads. 

The  question  of  building  new  vessels  for  the  relief  ex- 
pedition was  presented  in  the  interest  of  American  ship- 
builders, and  carefully  considered,  but  although  there  was  a 
possibility  that  suitable  vessels  might  be  built  within  the  re- 
quired time,  it  was  thought  best,  in  view  of  the  exigencies  of 
the  case,  not  to  run  the  risk  of  delay  by  placing  dependence 
upon  the  uncertainties  that  are  almost  inseparable  from  con- 
tract work. 

The  Dundee  fleet  makes  two  cruises  annually,  the  first 
after  seals  and  the  second  after  whales,  the  interval  between  the 
two  cruises  being  sjient  at  St.  John's.  Leaving  Dundee  toward 
the  end  of  January,  the  ships  go  to  St.  John's,  take  on  board 
additional  men,  and  set  out  for  the  coast  of  Labrador.  Hero 
they  spend  about  a  month  in  sealing.  Some  time  in  May 
they  make  for  the  "  SoutliM'cst  fishing  grounds "  ofi^  Capo 
Farewell,  and  in  June  they  move  up  tiio  Greenland  coast, 
cross  Melville  Bav  to  the  North  Water,  and  thence  work  over 
to  Lancaster  Sound,  for  the  west-side  fishing. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  secure  any  choice  of  whalers  for  the 
Kelicf  Expedition,  it  was  clear  that  prompt  action  was  neces- 
pary.  The  resolution  had  been  introduced  in  the  House  on 
the  Slst  of  January.     ]n  a  few  days  nil  the  shijw  would  1)0 


77a€  F I'ejjarations. 


115 


^  off  on  their  sealing  cruise.  To  postpone  the  selection  until 
the  voyage  had  begun  would  probably  defeat  the  purpose  of 
the  expedition.  The  vessel  chosen  might  be  detained,  possi- 
bly lost ;  and  even  if  she  returned  early  in  the  season,  she 
would  need  repairs,  docking  perhaps,  and  the  work  of  refit- 
ting at  St.  John's  would  involve  delays  that  would  render 
futile  all  efforts  for  an  early  start. 

Already  in  December  inquiries  had  been  addressed  to  the 
Consuls  at  St.  John's  and  Dundee,  calling  for  information  as 
to  the  possibility  of  purchasing  a  vessel  at  either  place.  It 
appeared  by  the  answers  received  from  Mr.  Molioy,  the  Con- 
sul at  St.  John's,  that  most  of  the  vessels  were  already  pre- 
pared to  start  for  the  sealing  voyage,  having  their  crews  and 
captains  engaged.  Several  offers  were  made  by  owners  of 
vessels  for  delivery  in  May,  but  this  was  out  of  the  question. 
It  was  learned,  however,  that  the  steamer  Bear^  owned  by 
Grieve  &  Co.,  of  Greenock,  was  then  on  her  way  from 
Greenock  to  St.  John's,  after  a  thorough  overhauling.  She 
was  a  sister  ship  of  the  Proteus,  but  had  been  fitted  the 
year  before  with  a  new  steel  boiler,  and  was  probably  the 
best  vessel  in  the  St.  John's  fishing  trade.  Negotiations  were 
immediately  opened  for  her  purchase,  through  Mr.  Molioy, 
and  on  the  23d  of  January  the  owners  consented  to  sell  her 
at  once  for  $100,000,  delivered  at  New  York. 

The  question  of  an  appropriation  was  now  dragging  through 
its  slow  parliamentary  course.  By  the  21th  the  resolution 
had  passed  in  both  branches,  and  the  only  difference  between 
the  Senate  and  the  House  was  in  reference  to  the  employment 
of  volunteers.  It  was  reasonably  certain  that  the  ap])ropria- 
tion  would  bo  made,  but  a  tii^il  agreement  might  be  delayed 
(as  actually  turned  out  to  be  the  case),  until  the  fishing  fieet 


I 


:\ 


1 


11),/ 


I 


\i 


'  1 


t' 


(   !i 


I 


B!  'I 


I    'l 


116 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


had  started  on  their  sealing  voyage.  In  view  of  the  urgency 
of  the  case,  and  of  the  fact  th^.t  there  was  reasonable  groand 
for  believing  that  even  without  a  specific  appropriation, 
authority  existed  to  make  the  purchase,  the  two  Secretaries, 
in  whose  charge  the  matter  lay,  directed  on  their  own  re- 
sponsibility that  the  offer  should  be  accepted  and  the  vessel 
purchased.  To  a  newspaper  reporter,  who  asked  one  of  them 
what  he  would  do  if  the  resolution  failed  to  pass,  the  latter 
replied  that  he  supposed  he  "  would  become  part  owner  of 
a  ship." 

The  offer  was  closed  on  the  28th,  and  the  Bear  arrived  at 
New  York  on  the  15th  of  February,  two  days  after  the  pas- 
sage of  the  appropriation.  Captain  Ash,  who  brought  her 
from  St.  John's,  was  engaged  as  her  ice-pilot  for  the  expe- 
dition. She  was  surveyed  soon  after  her  arrival,  and  on  the 
8th  of  March,  orders  were  issued  to  proceed  with  the  repairs 
recommended. 

While  the  negotiations  were  in  progress  at  St.  John's, 
similar  inquiries  were  being  made  at  Dundee,  with  a  view  to 
obtaining  a  second  vessel.  The  same  difficulties  were  en- 
countered here  owing  to  the  advanced  state  of  preparations 
for  the  sealing  voyage.  Owners  were  unwilling  to  lose  their 
prospective  profits,  to  secure  which  they  had  already  made  an 
outlay ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  prices  subsequently 
paid,  both  at  St.  John's  and  Dundee,  were  increased  at  least 
£6,000  from  t^iis  cause.  The  negotiations  at  Dundee  were 
conducted  with  excellent  judgment  by  Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Chadwick,  the  Naval  Attach^  at  our  Legation  in 
London,  acting  under  Mr.  Lowell.  Chadwick  had  he  advice 
and  co-operation  of  the  English  officers  who  had  served  in 
Arctic  expeditions,  as  well  as  of  the  little  coterie  of  English- 


The  Prejparations. 


117 


men  wlio  take  up  Arctic  exploration  as  an  amusement,  of 
wliom  the  foremost  are  Leigh  Smith  and  Sir  Allen  Young. 
The  former  will  be  remembered  as  the  enterprising  owner  of 
the  yacht  Eira^  which  made  two  voyages  to  Franz  Josef  Land, 
and  was  finally  nipped  in  the  ice  and  lost ;  while  Sir  Allen 
Young,  in  the  whaler  Hope,  gallantly  went  to  the  rescue  of 
his  brother  explorer,  and  brought  him  home  from  Kova 
Zembla,  a  year  after  the  wreck  of  the  Eira.  Young  had 
also  commanded  his  own  vessel,  the  Pandora  (afterward 
the  Jea/nnetti),  in  her  adventurous  voyages  in  1875  and  1876 
to  Smith  Sound  and  Franklin  Strait.  Among  the  naval  men, 
Sir  Leopold  McClintock  and  Sir  George  Kares,  and  other 
ofiicers  of  the  expedition  of  1875,  especially  Captains  Mark- 
ham,  Beaumont,  and  Aldrich,  were  indefatigable  in  giving 
counsel  and  assistance. 

As  it  was  desirable  that  the  Government  should  not  appear 
in  the  matter,  inquiries  were  at  first  conducted  through  Mr. 
Leigh  Smith  and  others,  but  this  precaution  was  presently 
laid  aside,  as  it  verj*  soon  became  a  matter  of  general  notoriety 
that  the  United  States  were  seeking  vessels  for  the  expedi- 
tion. By  the  9th  of  January  the  Legation  was  able  to  tele- 
graph that  out  of  the  fifteen  or  more  whalers  in  the  Dundee 
trade,  the  four  best  that  were  available  were  the  Thetia^ 
Hope,  Resolute,  and  Arctij,  at  prices  ranging  from  £18,500 
for  the  Hope,  to  £27,000  for  the  Thetis ;  but  only  the  Hope 
was  offered  for  immediate  use,  the  others  being  deliverab'c  at 
St.  John's  in  May.  Unfortunately  a  commercial  demand  for 
whalers  had  just  arisen,  due  to  an  advance  in  the  price  of 
whalebone,  and  the  Government  was  thus  placed  in  competi- 
tion with  private  buyers.  Of  the  vessels  offered,  the  Thetis 
was  the  newest  and  universally  considered  the  best,  and  after 


>r     f 


4  ,. 


^11 


«l 


\ii 


118 


The  Mescue  of  Greely. 


> 


some  delay  lier  owners,  Stephen  &  Son,  of  Dundee,  agreed 
to  an  immediate  delivery  for  £32,000.  A  little  further 
negotiation  brought  this  down  to  £28,000,  and  on  February 
4th  a  despatch  was  sent  to  London  accepting  the  ship,  subject 
to  the  inspection  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  The  inspection 
was  satisfactory,  and  on  the  13th,  it  was  directed  that  the 
purchase  should  be  completed.  After  some  delay,  required 
for  the  removal  of  the  oil-tanks  and  other  whaling  equip- 
ment, the  vessel  was  delivered  at  noon  on  Monday,  the  25th, 
to  Lieutenant-Commander  Chad  wick ;  and  Lieutenant  Rea- 
mey,  who  hnd  been  detailed  to  bring  her  to  New  York,  was 
placed  in  command. 

No  time  was  lost  in  preparing  for  the  voyage  to  New 
York.  The  ship  was  coaled,  provisions  were  taken  on  board, 
and  a  crew  engaged.  Three  of  Whitworth's  gun-forgings, 
weighing  twenty-five  tons,  and  intended  for  the  armament 
of  the  cruisers  building  for  the  Navy,  together  with  a  lot  of 
pig-iron,  were  shipped  for  ballast,  and  at  3  p.m.  of  Wednes- 
day, the  27th,  the  Thetis  steamed  out  from  the  docks  and 
anchored  in  the  river.  While  here  the  entire  crew  left  the 
shij),  having  selected  this  opportune  moment  to  go  ashore 
for  a  last  spree.  After  some  delay  they  were  brought  oJQE  in 
a  tug,  and  at  3  a.m.  of  the  29th  the  vessel  sailed.  She  ar- 
rived in  New  York  March  23d,  after  a  stormy  passage,  in  the 
course  of  which  she  met  a  large  field  of  heavy  ice,  and  had 
an  opportunity  of  showing  what  she  could  do  in  that  sort  of 
navigation. 

Some  time  before  the  purchase  of  the  Thetis  was  com- 
pleted, Lieutenant-Commander  Chadvvick  had  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  question  of  securing  a  third  vessel  among  those 
which  at  one  time  or  another  had  been  used  or  fitted  for 


!    '•! 


i!  ft :  li 


The  Preparations. 


119 


Arctic  exploration.  There  were  three  of  these  in  England, 
tlie  Pandora,  the  Discovery,  and  the  Alert.  The  Pand<yra 
was  first  examined.  This  steamer  liad  been  built  at  Pem- 
broke Dockyard  as  a  surveying  vessel  under  the  Admiralty. 
She  was  then  called  the  Newport.  After  Sir  Allen  Young 
had  sold  the  first  Pandora  (later  the  J^io/nnette)  to  Mr.  Ben- 
nett for  DeLong's  expedition,  he  bought  the  Newport,  a  ves- 
sel in  all  respects  similar,  and  had  her  doubled  for  Arctic 
navigation.  She  was  re-named  the  Pandoim,  and  having 
been  thoroughly  repaired,  with  new  decks,  engines,  and 
boilers,  in  1881,  she  was  now  a  beautiful  steam-yacht  of 
about  570  tons.  In  the  meantime  she  had  again  changed 
hands,  but  Ler  new  owner,  Mr.  Assheton  Smith,  was  willing 
to  part  with  her.  Sir  George  Nares  strongly  recommended 
her  consideration  as  an  advance  vessel,  and  she  was  accord- 
ingly examined  by  Chadwick,  who  went  down  to  Port 
Dinowic  for  the  purpose.  Captain  Pelham  Aldrich,  R.  N., 
the  explorer  of  the  northern  coast  of  Grinnell  Land,  kindly 
volunteered  to  accompany  Chadwick  in  his  inspection.  They 
found  the  vessel  in  every  way  fitted  for  the  service,  except 
that  her  engines  were  of  small  power  (35  nominal),  and  there 
was  therefore  a  grave  doubt  as  to  her  capacity  to  cope  with 
the  ice. 

While  the  question  of  the  Pandora  was  still  under  con- 
sideration, inquiries  were  made  unoificially  in  reference  to 
the  Alert  and  the  Discovery,  the  ships  commanded  by 
Captain  Narcs  in  1875,  which  were  still  in  the  Kaval  service. 
The  Discovery,  however,  which  was  herself  an  old  Dundee 
whaler,  was  in  active  employment  by  the  Admiralty  as  a 
transport  and  freight  boat  between  the  dockyards,  and  could 
not  well  be  spared.     The   Alert  was  lying  dismantled  at 


I    i'; 


I  -i 


; 


\Y\ 


\\  i 


-• 
1 

I 

\ 


:3  ■ 


': 


120 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


■}         : 


jB  V  f. 


Chatham,  and  although  it  seemed  possible  that  she  might 
ultimately  be  sold,  no  decision  had  yet  been  arrived  at.  The 
Arctic  men  all  seemed  to  prefer  her  strongly  to  the  Pan- 
dora^ at  likely  to  prove  more  eflBcient  for  the  service  in- 
tended. Matters  being  in  this  state,  Lieutenant-Commander 
Chadwick,  in  an  interview  with  Sir  Cooper  Key,  one  of  the 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  on  the  morning  of  February  2d,  in- 
timated the  possibility  that  the  United  States  Government 
might  desire  to  use  the  Alert  in  the  proposed  expedition. 
The  interview  was  entirely  of  an  informal  character,  and,  as 
Lieutenant-Commander  Chadvrick  said  at  the  time,  he  was 
without  specific  instructions,  and  no  definite  proposition 
could  as  yet  be  made.  In  the  evening  the  following  unoffi- 
cial letter  was  received  at  the  Legation  from  the  First  Lord 

of  the  Admiralty : 

February  2,  1884. 
DEAB  Mr.  Lowell  : 

Commander  Chadwick  lias  mentioned,  in  conversation  with  Sir  Cooper 
Key,  that  Her  Majesty's  ship  AUrt  might  be  of  use  to  the  United  States 
Government  in  an  expedition  to  be  dispatched  in  search  of  the  expedi- 
tion which  is  missing  in  the  Arctic  region.  I  write  a  line  to  say  that  we 
have  not  forgotten  the  very  considerate  conc^-ict  of  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  on  the  occasion  of  the  recovery  of  the  Besolute,  and 
that  if  you  should  be  instructed  to  make  any  suggestions  through  the 
usual  official  channel,  that  the  Alert  would  be  of  any  use  to  the  United 
States  Government,  we  shall  be  happy  to  ask  you  to  accept  her  as  a 
present. 

Yours  very  sincerely,  Northbbook. 


■^  ■  !.. 


Mr.  Lowell  lost  no  time  in  sending  the  a^jswer : 


m'    ■ 


Legation  of  the  United  States,  February  2,  1884, 

My  deak  Lord  Northbrook  : 

It  is  with  an  emotion  for  v;hich  the  diplomatic  phrase  "  peculiar  satis- 
faction "  is  altogether  too  colorless,  that  I  hasten  to  acknowledge  the 
reception  of  your  private  note  of  yesterday,  informing  me  of  the  offer  by 


The  Preparations. 


121 


Her  Majesty's  Government  of  H.  M.  S.  Alert  as  a  gift  to  that  of  the 
United  States  for  the  use  of  the  Greely  Relief  Expedition.  As  I  think 
the  terms  of  your  note  more  expressive  than  any  that  I  could  substitulc 
for  them,  I  shall  this  morning  send  a  copy  of  it,  in  cipher,  to  Washington. 
In  the  meanwhile  I  beg  thus  in  advance  to  convey  to  you,  and  through 
you  to  Her  Majesty's  Government,  the  thanks  of  the  President  for  this 
particularly  timely  and  graceful  recognition  of  that  international  courtesy 
which  I  trust  will  always  characterize  the  intercourse  of  our  respective 
countries. 

Faithfully  yours,  J.  R.  Lowell. 

In  consequence  of  Lord  Northbrook^s  letter,  a  dispatch 
was  sent  to  Mr.  Lowell,  stating  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by 
the  Navy  Department  that  the  Alert  would  be  best  fitted 
for  a  third  vessel  for  the  Relief  Expedition,  and  asking  if 
she  could  be  spared  for  the  service.  The  suggestion  was  ac- 
cordingly made  by  the  Legation,  it  being  understood  that  the 
Alert  was  in  condition  to  enable  the  United  States  to  fit  her 
for  the  proposed  service.  As  parts  of  her  equipment  were 
wanting,  Chadwick  proposed,  if  the  presentation  was  made, 
to  take  her  to  Green's,  the  best  ship-yard  for  that  sort  of 
work  on  the  Thames,  and  fit  her  out.  On  the  20th,  the 
Admiralty  made  a  formal  offer  of  the  ship  as  a  gift,  and 
while  waiting  for  an  answer,  consented  to  tow  her  to  the 
ship-yard,  and  take  her  back  if  siie  was  not  accepted.  The 
acceptance  was  cabled  in  the  afternoon,  and  work  began  tlio 
next  morning.  The  dispatch  to  Mr.  Lowell,  informing  him 
that  the  Alert  had  been  accepted,  was  as  follows : 

Lowell,  Minister,  London, 

Her  Majesty's  Government  having  presented  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  the  ship  Alert  to  aid  in  the  relief  of  Lieutenant  Greely  and 
his  party,  you  will  inform  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  that 
the  spirit  which  prompts  this  act  of  generosity,  and  this  evidence  of  sym- 
pathy with  the  object  in  view,  receives  the  highest  appreciation  of  the 
President,  as  it  will  that  of  tlae  people  of  the  United  States.    The  Presi- 


1 

,  J 

:f  i  1 

,H  1   1 

J. 
'i-i 

1 

,    t 

122 


The  BesGue  of  Greely. 


dent  sends  his  cordial  thanks  for  the  opportune  gift  of  this  vessel,  which 
he  accepts  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  and  which  will  be  used  in  the 
humane  enterprise  for  which  it  is  so  peculiarly  adapted. 

FRELINOnUTBEN. 


lit  'i^ ' 


The  work  of  fitting  out  the  Alert  was  carried  on  with  hot 
haste,  the  shipwrights  covering  her  with  workmen.  Lieu- 
tenant Commander  Chadwick  was  constantly  present  during 
tlie  work,  as  well  as  Lieutenant-Commander  Goodrich,  who 
was  to  take  the  ship  to  New  York.  Sir  George  Nares,  Com- 
mander Parr,  and  other  officers  who  had  served  in  the  Alert ^ 
came  down  frequently  and  gave  suggestions,  so  that  the  ship- 
yard became  for  the  time  a  sort  of  rendezvous  of  Arctic  men. 
Mr.  Leigh  Smith  had  generously  furnished  to  the  Govern- 
ment his  Arctic  outfit  of  sledges,  tents,  and  clothing,  and  it 
was  decided  to  accept  them  and  bring  them  over  in  the  ship, 
at  the  same  time  offering  Mr.  Smith  a  passage,  if  he  desired. 

The  Alert  left  the  works  at  Poplar  on  the  26th  of 
March,  and  on  the  29th  sailed  from  Gravesend  for  New 
York,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Commander  Good- 
rich. She  arrived  safely  in  New  York  on  the  22d  of  April, 
two  days  before  the  departure  of  the  first  ship  of  the  Relief 
Expedition. 

Long  before  this  time,  arrangements  had  been  made  by 
the  Navy  De])artmcnt  for  the  organization  of  the  expedition, 
and  the  detail  of  its  oflicers.  The  first  step  was  the  api)oint- 
ment  of  a  Commander-in-chief,  which  was  made  on  the  18th 
of  February. 

Ill  making  a  selection  at  this  early  date,  it  was  the  purpose 
of  the  Department  to  identify  one  man  with  the  enterprise 
from  the  beginning,  and  thus  not  only  to  give  him  time  and 
op])ortunity  to  make  all  the  needful  arrangements,  but  to 


The  Preparationa. 


123 


centralize  from  the  start  the  executive  responsibility,  and  to 
include  under  it  both  preparation  and  action.  From  the  18th 
of  February  until  the  return  of  the  vessels,  the  expedition, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Navy  Department,  was  the  commanding 
officer,  and  the  commanding  officer  was  the  expedition. 
There  was  to  be  no  possibility  of  saying,  "  We  were  unable 
to  do  so  and  so,  because  the  Bureaus  forgot  this  or  that  detail 
of  equipment ";  it  was  one  man's  business  to  call  for  every- 
thing that  was  needed,  and  to  make  sure  that  he  got  it.  The 
orders  ran : 

Navy  Department,  "WAsmNGTON,  February  18,  1884. 
Commander  Winfield  S.  Schley,  Wasbiogton. 

Sin  :  Having  been  selected  for  the  command  of  the  Qreely  Relief  Ex- 
pedition of  1884,  you  will  make  immediate  and  full  preparation  for  the 
performance  of  your  duties.  You  will  investigate  the  circumstances  of 
Lieutenant  Greely's  voyage  to  Lady  Franklin  Sound  in  1881,  and  of  the 
attempts  to  relieve  him  in  1882  and  1883,  incidentally  familiarizing  your- 
self with  the  whole  subject  of  Arctic  exploring  and  relief  expeditions. 
You  will  examine  the  ThetU  and  Bear,  and  all  other  ships  which  may  be 
designed  for  the  expedition,  and  co-operate  with  the  Chiefs  of  Bureaus  in 
strengthening  and  equipping  them,  giving  particular  attention  to  all  the 
special  articles  of  outfit  necessary  in  Arctic  voyaging,  including  boats, 
sledges,  dogs,  houses,  provisions,  clothing,  navigation  instruments,  and 
the  whole  material  of  the  expedition. 

You  will  also  consider  and  assist  in  the  selection  of  the  subordinate 
officers  and  the  enlistment  of  the  crew  ;  and  on  all  points  above  indicated, 
and  concerning  any  steps  whicii  ouglit  to  bo  taken  to  give  success  to  the 
expedition,  you  will  from  ti!uo  to  time  make  to  the  Department  all  sug- 
gestions and  recommendations  which  may  occur  to  you  as  useful  or  iui- 

portant. 

Very  respectfully,  Witliam  E.  Chandler, 

Secretary  of  t/ie  Na\>y. 

Commander  George  W.  Collin  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  tlio  AUrt^  and  Lieutenant  William  II.  Emory,  .Ir., 
to  that  of  the  Bear.     All  the  officers  for  the  three  ships,  as 


>/?  : 


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I 


b  \  ,': 


124 


T/ie  MesGue  of  Greely. 


■well  as  the  seamen,  were  carefully  selected.  Every  man  was 
examined  by  a  medical  board,  under  instructions  from  the 
Surgeon-General,  prescribing  a  standard  of  physique  neces- 
sary to  endure  the  hardships  and  exposures  of  the  Arctic,  and 
many  of  those  who  came  before  the  board  were  rejected. 
Care  was  taken  that  on  board  each  vessel  there  should  be 
at  least  one  oflScer  who  had  had  more  or  less  Arctic  expe- 
rience. 

The  list  of  officers,  as  finally  made  up,  was  as  follows : 

Thetib. 

Commander  Winfleld  S.  Schley,  Commanding  Expedition. 
Lieutenant  Uriel  Sebree,  Executive  and  Navigating  officer. 
"         Emory  H.  Taunt. 
"         Samuel  C.  Lemly. 
Ensign  Washington  I.  Chambers,  (afterwards  transferred  to  the  Loch 
Oarry). 
Charles  H.  Harlow. 
Chief-Engineer  George  W.  Melville. 
Passed  Assistant-Surgeon  Edward  H.  Green. 

Bear. 

LieL tenant  William  H.  Emory,  Jr.,  Commanding. 

"         Freeman  H.  Crosby,  Executive  and  Navigating  officer. 
John  C.  Colwell. 

Nathaniel  R.  Usher.  • 

Ensign  Lovell  E.  Reynolds. 
Chief -Engineer  John  Lowe. 
Passed  Assistant-Surgeon  Howard  E.  Ames. 

Albrt. 

Commander  George  W.  Coffin,  commanding. 

Lioutoiiaat  Charles  J,  Dudgor,  Executive  and  Navigating  officer. 

Henry  J.  Hunt. 
Ensign  Charles  S.  McCIain. 

"       Albort  A.  Ackorman. 
Passed  AHsistunt-Enginocr  William  H.  Naumau. 
Suigeon  Francis  B.  Nash. 


<i 


II 


TJie  Preparations. 


125 


The  oflScers  of  the  Tlietis  who  had  had  Arctic  experience 
were  Lieutenant  Sebree,  who  had  been  in  the  Tigress  when 
she  made  her  voyage  to  Littleton  Idand  in  search  of  the 
Polai'is^  and  Chief -Engineer  Melville,  whose  part  in  the 
Jeannette  expedition  is  too  well  known  to  require  even  a 
passing  allusion;  in  the  Bear^  Lieutenant  Colwell,  whose 
services  in  the  return  from  the  wreck  of  the  Proteus^  form 
the  brightest  episode  in  an  otherwise  gloomy  chapter  of 
Arctic  history ;  and  in  the  Alert^  Lieutenant  Hunt,  who  had 
served  in  the  Rodgers^  on  the  disastrous  expedition  in  search 
of  the  Jeannette^  and  Ensign  Ackerman,  who  had  made  the 
cruise  the  summer  before  in  the  Yantic.  There  were  also 
three  ice-masters,  Korman,  the  former  mate  of  the  Proteus 
and  the  Neptune,  in  the  Thetis;  Ash,  in  the  Bear',  and 
Gifford,  a  New  Bedford  whaler,  in  the  Alert 

The  ships  carried  no  paymasters.  The  care  of  the  pro- 
visions and  clothing  was  made  a  part  of  the  Surgeon's  duty. 
He  regulated  the  variety  and  quantity  of  the  dietary  allow- 
ance of  the  crews,  as  well  as  their  changes  of  clothing,  and 
all  issues  of  food  or  clothing  were  made  under  his  supervision. 
Whenever  the  payment  of  money  was  necessary  it  was  done 
by  the  commanding  officers  upon  the  usual  vouchers.  The 
medical  officers  of  course  performed  their  ordinary  profes- 
sional duties,  in  reference  both  to  the  sanitary  condition  of 
the  ships  and  ine  health  of  those  on  board,  which,  on  the  re- 
turn trip,  wore  no  slight  responsibility  and  care.  Their 
KUggestions  always  had  the  force  of  law,  and  were  ol)6erved 
under  all  circuuistances  during  the  cruise. 

The  crews  we'e  cut  down  to  the  lowest  possible  limit. 
The  number  of  officers  and  men  allowed  to  the  Thetis  was 
thirt} -seven,  to  the  Bear  thirty-four,  and  to  the  Alert  thirty- 


(i.     i 


126 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


nine.  In  order  to  secure  crews  as  homogeneous  as  possible, 
all  the  men  were  taken  from  the  Navy.  Volunteers  were 
invited  from  all  the  ships  of  the  North  Atlantic  fleet,  but  the 
absence  of  most  of  the  vessels  made  it  necessary  to  fall  back 
on  the  Powhatan.)  from  which  three-fourths  of  the  men  were 
drawn.  After  Americans,  the  preference  was  given  to 
"north-countrymen,"  that  is,  Scandinavians  and  Russian 
Finns.  All  were  enlisted  on  board  the  Vermont  at  New 
York,  in  order  that  the  same  rule  of  examination  might  bo 
generally  applied.  The  examination  was  rigid,  and  many 
were  excluded,  but  those  whose  only  defect  was  in  the  teeth, 
were  taken  after  being  put  in  the  hands  of  a  dentist.  The 
pay  of  all  the  crews  was  increased  ten  dollars  per  month  for 
the  cruise,  and  a  bounty  amounting  to  two  months'  regular 
pay  was  promised  if  tlie  ships  returned  successful  in  the  fall. 
The  Thetis  and  the  Bear  were  vessels  built  to  encounter 
the  ice  of  Melville  Bay,  but  after  they  had  been  inspected  by 
the  commander  oi  i-ne  expedition  and  by  the  chiefs  of  Bureaus 
of  the  Navy  Dej)artment,  it  was  thought  best  to  take  every 
possible  precaution  and  strengthen  them  further.  Additional 
beams  were  then 'fore  laid  between  those  already  supporting 
the  lower  dcckts,  and  truss-frames  were  put  in,  extending 
from  the  bilge  to  the  middle  of  the  lower  deck  beams.  A 
deck  was  also  laid  on  these  beams,  as  the  whalers  had  nc 
berth-deck,  the  space  where  it  is  usually  found  being  loft 
open  to  give  access  to  tlie  immense  blubber-tank,^  in  the 
hold.  Water-tight  bulkheads  were  put  up  at  the  forward 
and  aftor  ends.  Iron  straps  wore  put  over  the  stem  and 
secured  with  through-bolts  to  the  forward  deadwood,  and 
fiponsons  or  filliiig-])ieccs  wore  used  to  close  u])  the  space  in 
the  angle  between  the  keel  and  the  ship's  bottom,  so  that  the 


The  Prejyaratimia. 


127 


thrust  of  ice  forced  latei'ally  against  the  lower  part  of  tlio 
hull,  would  be  borne  on  without  resistance,  and  all  danger  of 
forcing  open  the  bottom  planking  avoided. 

Besides  the  strengthening  of  the  vessels,  they  were  calked 
and  painted,  the  machinery  was  thoroughly  examined  and 
repaired,  and  two  donkey-boilers  were  placed  in  the  liie- 
rooms  for  general  use  during  winter.  The  standing  riggiug 
was  overhauled  and  repaired,  and  the  running  rigging  and 
sails  were  renewed.  Steam-jets  were  placed  in  the  holds  and 
coal-bunkers,  to  assist  in  putting  out  fire  in  case  of  spon- 
taneous combustion,  of  which  there  was  some  danger  from 
the  bituminous  coal  used  by  the  vessels. 

To  provide  for  an  increase  of  air-space  for  the  officers  and 
men  during  what  might  be  a  long  period  of  confinement,  the 
quarters  on  board  both  ships  w^to  remodeled.  Only  the 
Captain  had  a  room  by  himself.  The  saloon  of  the  vessels, 
which  was  to  be  used  as  a  wardroom,  was  fitted  with  bunks,  and 
curtains  with  rods  which  could  be  "rigged  out"  at  night. 
On  tho  berth-decik  was  a  general  storeroom,  and  the  aminu- 
nition-lockcr,  the  men's  quarters  being  on  the  upper-dock 
forward.  To  give  more  room,  tho  top-gallant  forecastle  was 
extended  aft,  and  the  quarters  were  fitted  with  twenty-eight 
bunks  built  in  pairs,  one  above  the  other.  The  quarters 
were  sei-arated  from  the  ship's  side  by  an  alL'y-way  which 
gave  access  to  the  forward  part  of  the  ship,  and  the  walls  and 
ceilings  were  lined  with  felt  to  exclude  the  cold  and  to  pi'c- 
vent  condensation  of  moisture.  The  siune  device,  which  wan 
a  suggestion  of  Chief  Constructor  Wilson,  was  employed  in 
tho  officers'  quarters,  and  serve(f  its  pui-pose  admirably.  BtttJi 
apartments  were  heated  by  stoves  instead  of  steam  from  the 
boiler,  for  reasons  of  economy,  thcconsunijitionof  coal  when 


l!i 


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128 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


If 

1  ..: 

m 

1 

1 

1 

il 

the  ship  was  not  under  way  being  thus  reduced  to  150  pounds 
a  day,  instead  of  two  tons.  The  difficulty  described  by  Nares 
in  the  use  of  stoves  in  the  Arctic,  which  arises  from  the  in- 
ability of  the  column  of  hot  air  from  a  small  fire  to  resist  the 
"heavy  downward  pressure  of  cold  air  in  the  flue,  was  obviated 
by  the  introduction  of  fresh  air  through  a  pipe  to  the  space 
below  the  grate  bars. 

The  Alert  was  in  such  good  condition  upon  her  arrival  at 
New  York  as  to  require  no  changes  except  in  the  construc- 
tion of  berths  for  the  crew,  the  removal  of  some  unnecessary 
bulkheads  in  her  hold,  and  slight  repairs  to  the  rigging  and 
sails. 

On  the  10th  of  March  the  (avy  Department  called  upon 
the  Commander  of  the  expedition  to  submit  a  plan  proposing 
dates  for  the  depUi^^ure  of  the  relief  ships,  and  on  the  17th 
the  following  answer  was  given : 

Washington,  D.  C,  Marc?i  17,  1884 
lion.  W.  E.  C'HANDLER,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Sir  :  —In  reply  to  your  letter  of  March  10th,  informing  me  that  it  had 
been  definitely  settled  that  the  Thetis,  Bear,  and  Alert  wc.  ;  to  be  the  ves- 
sels of  the  expedition  to  relieve  Lieutenant  Greely  and  party  at  Lady 
Franklin  Bay,  I  would  respectfully  suggest  that  the  Bear,  being  the  ves- 
sel most  advanced  in  the  strengthening  needed  for  this  service,  should  be 
dispatched  from  New  York  on  the  25th  of  April  to  St.  John's,  New- 
foundland, to  fill  up  with  coal,  to  take  dogs  on  board,  and  to  inquire  into 
the  condition  of  the  ice  in  Davis  Strait,  and  at  the  earliest  practicable 
moment  to  proceed  to  the  Danish  settlements  of  Disko  and  Upernivik, 
reaching  there  about  the  third  week  in  May,  if  r.-acticable. 

The  llietis  should  follow  the  Bear,  leaving  New  York  not  later  than 
May  1st,  stopping  at  St.  Jolm's  for  coal,  to  take  dogs  on  board,  and  to 
convoy  the  coal  steamer  to  Upernivik,  where  she  ought  to  arrive  about 
May  25tli. 

From  Upernivik  the  Thetis  and  Bear  should  proceed  onward  witii  the 
convoy  to  (^ape  York  and  Littleton  Island.  Should  the  ice  app'^ar  too 
formidable  for  the  collier  to  encounter  so  early  aj  June,  she  should  ro- 


The  Preparations. 


123 


ma'.n  at  Upernivik  until  the  arrival  of  the  Alert,  which  vessel  would  then 
be  cliarged  with  the  convoy. 

The  importance  of  convoy  beyond  Upernivilt  can  hardly  be  over-esti- 
mated, in  view  of  the  circumstance  that  the  Government  may  be  obliged 
to  assume  all  responsibility  for  the  coal  vessel,aud  cargo. 

The  Alert  should  be  dispatched  not  later  than  May  10th  from  New 
York  to  St.  John's,  to  till  up  with  coal,  and  then  to  proceed  onward  to 
Disko  and  Upernivik,  where  she  should  arrive  not  later  than  June  1st. 

Her  movements  should  be  so  timed  that  she  might  reach  Littleton 
Island,  or  Foulke  Fiord,  about  the  1st  of  July,  in  order  to  have  sufficient 
time  to  land  and  build  the  house,  land  provisions,  coal,  and  other  sup- 
plies, to  establish  the  station  upon  which  the  advance  ships'  companies 
could  retreat  in  the  event  of  disaster,  and  afterwards  to  send  a  sled  party 
onward  to  examine  the  coast  on  the  eastern  side  of  Smith  Sound  as  far 
as  Humboldt  Glacier. 

This  duty  completed  by  September  1st,  and  the  Thetis  and  Bear  not 
having  returned  to  Littleton  Island,  or  Foulke  Fiord,  the  AUrt  should 
return  to  St.  John's  with  news  of  the  expedition. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

W.    S.    SCHLET, 

Commander,  Commanding  Oreely  Relief  Expedition. 


This  programme  was  rigorotisly  carried  out.  The  Bear 
was  put  in  commission  March  lYth,  the  Tlietls  April  2d,  and 
the  Alert  was  continued  in  commission  after  her  arrival  from 
England.    All  the  vessels  sailed  on  or  before  the  dates  named. 

As  soon  as  the  officers  reported  for  duty,  a  detail  was  made, 
and  instructions  were  given  them  to  inspect  all  articles  of 
outfit  under  preparation,  and  to  report  daily  to  the  Com- 
mander of  tho  expedition  the  progress  made  in  the  dificrent 
departments,  and  any  deficiencies  in  the  lists  of  stores.  Tho 
provisions  and  tho  medical  outfit  were  carefully  inspected  by 
tho  mediral  officers.  In  this  Tay,  not  only  was  tho  com- 
manding ofiiccr  cognizant  of  the  state  of  forwardness  of  the 
expedition  day  by  day,  but  the  officers  themselves  became 
familiar  with  every  article  of  outfit ;  and  many  points  not 
U 


130 


Ths  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


: 


yet  tLouglit  of  came  up  for  consideration,  which  resulted  in 
new  ideas  and  suggestions,  and  the  addition  of  much  that 
was  needful  to  the  resources  of  the  expedition.  By  the  first 
week  in  April  the  supplies  were  well  advanced,  those  of  the 
Bear  being  pushed  most  rapidly,  as  she  was  to  be  the  first 
vessel  off. 

As  it  had  been  ascertained  that  the  use  of  anthracite  coal, 
— the  kind  generally  employed  in  the  service, — would  result 
in  a  loss  of  speed  of  at  least  twenty  per  cent.,  it  was  decided 
to  send  for  the  best  Welsh  or  semi-bituminous  coal.  The 
coal-transport  Tharra  was  accordingly  chartered,  and  she 
brought  over  2,000  tons  from  Cardiff.  A  contract  was  also 
made  ^vith  Sutton  &  Co.,  the  agents  of  the  English  steamer 
Loch  Garry,  to  transport  500  tons  of  Welsh  coal  from  Cardiff 
to  Littleton  Island.  This  would  secure  a  supply  for  the  ex- 
pedition on  the  spot,  and  the  Government  assumed  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  vessel  from  the  time  of  her  departure 
from  St.  John's  until  her  return  to  New  York.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy fact  that  no  suitable  vessel  could  be  found  in  the 
United  States  for  this  service. 

Each  ship  vv^as  furnished  with  a  Herreshoff  steam  cutter, 
and  the  Alert  A^ith  White's  steam  cutter,  which  had  been 
purchased  in  lingland.  The  other  boats  were  constructed  to 
serve  three  purposes.  They  were  to  be  used  as  boats  in  crossing 
water-spaces,  as  sleds  in  crossing  floes,  and  as  quarters  when 
hauled  out  in  stormy  weather,  or  for  rest.  For  this  reason 
they  were  fitted  with  bilge-runners,  after  the  method  adopted 
by  Sir  Edward  Parry,  and  with  covers  and  tent-stanchions. 
The  thole-pins  were  of  wood,  and,  in  general,  the  use  of 
metal  was  avoided  as  much  as  possible.  Besides  the  oars, 
two  paddles  were  supplied  to  each  boat,  with  ice-chisels  fitted 


a  I 


Tlie  Preparations. 


131 


on  their  upper  end,  to  be  used  in  cutting  through  small  ice- 
tongues  or  blocks  in  the  way  of  the  sliips.  Their  sails  antl 
tent-coverings,  as  well  as  the  A  tents  supplied  to  the  expedi- 
tion, were  made  of  tan-colored  canvas,  to  avoid  the  glare, 
and  to  make  them  more  easily  distinguishable  at  a  distance  in 
a  region  where  nearly  all  objects  are  white. 

The  steam  cutters  were  of  the  Herreshoff  type,  built  as 
whale-boats,  and  were  of  excellent  service,  especially  as  sea- 
boats,  for  which  their  form  and  lightness  peculiarly  fitted 
them ;  but  the  type  of  engine  with  the  exterior  condenser  was 
hardly  simple  enough  for  the  exceptionally  hard  service  and 
unavoidable  neglect  to  which  the  boats  are  subjected  in  the 
Arctic.  The  safety-valve  was  a  weak  spot  in  the  machinery, 
and  unless  closely  watched,  was  apt  to  lose  its  tempering 
with  the  sudden  increase  of  steam  pressure  in  the  coil-boiler. 
The  Bear's  steam  cutter,  christened  by  somebody  the  "  Cub," 
which  was  so  prominently  connected  with  the  rescuu,  was 
partly  disabled  at  the  time,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  she  would 
has'e  been  of  any  service  but  for  the  indefatigable  industry 
and  resource  of  Chief-Engineer  Lowe,  who  kept  her  running 
in  spite  of  all  the  difficulties  that  arose  at  this  critical 
moment 

The  sleds  of  the  expedition  were  made  in  accord- 
ance with  the  designs  of  Chief-Engineer  Melville,  with  re- 
versible runners  shod  with  iron,  and  were  well  constructed, 
though  somewhat  heavier  than  they  should  have  been.  In 
the  outfit  supplied  by  Mr.  Leigh  Smith,  there  were  also  tv;o 
McClintock  sleds. 

The  ships  were  provisioned  for  115  men  for  two  years. 
Tbe  tnormous  progress  of  recent  years  in  the  art  of  canning 
fooJs  made  it  possible  to  fit  out  the  expedition  with  an 


) 


l! 


I  if 

II 


132 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Greek/. 


1- 


almost  unlimited  variety  of  provisions.  As  the  nutritive 
value  of  food  depends  largely  upon  frequent  changes  of  diet, 
it  was  deemed  of  the  first  importance  to  include  in  the 
list  everything  that  was  in  the  market,  and  next  that  all  the 
articles  should  be  securely  packed  in  hermetically-sealed  cans, 
covered  with  light  wooden  boxes.  The  bread  was  packed  m 
the  same  way,  the  wooden  cases  weighing  about  forty  pounds 
each,  making  stowage  and  handling  an  easy  matter.  Every 
package  was  plainly  stencilled  with  its  weight  and  cont-^nts. 
The  pemmican,  which  is  always  the  most  nutritious  food  in 
the  most  compact  form  for  Arctic  work,  was  packed  in  one 
and  two-pound  cans  and  boxes.  Pemmican  is  made  from  the 
round  of  beef  cut  in  strips  and  dried,  then  shredded  or 
minced,  and  mixed  with  beef  tallow  and  currant?.  It  is 
palatable  and  wholesome,  and  may  be  eaten  from  the  can,  or 
cut  into  cakes  and  fried.  Anti-scorbutics  of  several  kindo 
were  included  in  the  list,  and  tea  and  chocolate  were  the 
principal  stimulants  taken.  It  was  found  by  the  expedition 
that  in  the  Arctic  climate  the  use  of  coffee  has  ini'urious 
effects  on  many  constitutions,  and  tea  seemed  to  be  the  best 
stimulant  for  ordinary  use ;  though  there  ?.re  times  when,  after 
severe  exposure,  nothing  short  of  hot  spirits  will  give  the  in- 
ternal warmth  needed. 

Tlie  clothing  outfit  was  made  at  the  New  York  Navy 
Yard,  the  officers  and  men  being  fitted  as  soon  as  they  joined. 
It  was  intended  to  be  sufficient  for  two  years,  and  comprised 
three  suits  of  under  and  outer  clothing  for  each  year.  The 
underclothing  was  of  heavy  red  flannel  made  double  about 
the  chest,  and  with  stockings  of  red  wool  extending  to  the 
knees.  The  outer  clothing  was  made  of  heavy  pliable  v^loth, 
and  consisted  of  a  blue  flannel  overshirt,  made  full  with 


11 


The  Preparations. 


133 


double  cheBt  and  back  and  a  rolling  collar,  a  vest  and  blouse 
of  blue  cloth  lined  witb  flannel,  an  overcoat  made  like  a 
monkey  jacket,  and  an  Elsinore  leather  cap  with  a  woolen 
strip  to  roll  down  over  the  ears  and  the  neck.  Horn  buttons 
only  were  used,  because  they  do  not  collect  the  frost.  The 
hand  coverings  were  woolen  one-fingered  mittens  and  sealskin 
gloves,  and  the  boots  were  of  tanned  horse-hide  and  sealskin. 
This  was  the  "  summer  rig." 

The  winter  rig  comprised  two  suits  of  reindeer  clothing 
for  each  year,  consisting  of  a  jacket  and  hood  made  in  Oiio, 
with  the  sleeves  covering  the  hands,  and  loose  trousers  falling 
to  the  knee.  Under  the  reindeer  hood  a  woolen  hood  was 
worn,  with  a  knitted  cape  covering  the  ears  and  neck,  leav- 
ing the  face  uncovered.  Great  dilliculty  was  found  in  ob- 
taining reindeer  skins  for  the  winter  clothing.  They  could 
not  bo  found  in  the  United  States,  and  the  Department  was 
obliged  to  order  them  from  Stockholm,  and  even  there  delays 
occurred  in  bringing  the  skins  in  from  the  country  villages, 
where  alone  they  were  to  be  bought.  They  only  arrived  at 
the  last  moment,  and  the  suits  were  made  up  in  New  York 
in  an  extraordinarily  short  time. 

The  winter  foot-gear  consisted  of  sealskin  moccasins  lined 
with  Iceland  wool,  inside  of  which  was  worn,  over  the  ordi- 
nary stocking,  a  long  cloth  stocking  lined  with  fleece,  and 
laced  from  the  instep  to  the  knee.  The  moccasins  are  gen- 
erally soled  with  oogook  si^ins,  which  are  taken  from  the 
larger  seals,  and  are  stouter  and  tougher  than  the  ordinary 
skins,  as  well  as  more  lasting  and  impervious  to  water.  They 
are  not  generally  found  for  sale  outsido  of  Arctic  settlements. 
The  Thetis  purchased  all  she  wanted  at  Tassuisak.  To  pro- 
tect the  eyes  from  the  snow  glare,  goggles  of  colored  glass 


/< 


Pi 


I 


.1 


134 


The  Hescue  of  Greely. 


were  used,  and  to  avoid  condensation  on  the  inner  side,  tliin 
gauze  surrounded  the  glass  and  fitted  over  the  eye,  maintain- 
ing the  same  temperature  on  both  sides  of  the  glass.  During 
the  summer  in  the  Arctic,  the  sun  being  always  above  the  hori- 
zon, it  is  necessary  to  wear  goggles  most  of  the  time  to  avoid 
enow-blindness.  Mittens  are  obviously  better  than  glo^'es, 
and  the  Eskimo  pattern  of  mittens,  with  a  thumb  or  finger 
on  each  side,  is  probably  the  best  suited  for  Arctic  use. 

Sleeping-bags  for  work  in  sledging  were  made  of  reindeer 
skin  with  the  fur  inside.  They  were  about  eight  feet  long 
and  thirty  inches  wide,  cut  somewhat  to  the  shape  of  the 
figure.  They  were  fitted  with  a  slit  to  facilitate  getting  in 
and  out,  with  a  round  hole  or  opening  for  the  face,  covered 
by  a  flap  closing  toward  the  foot.  When  a  party  is  on  the 
march,  the  bags  are  rolled  up  to  exclude  moisture,  and  they 
give  a  moderate  amount  of  comfort  even  at  extreme  tem- 
peratures, if  one  is  inside  of  a  tent.  They  are  an  indispensa- 
ble part  of  an  Arctic  outfit. 

For  firearms,  each  ship  was  supplied  with  six  double- 
barrelled  sporting  guns  and  twelve  Springfield  rifles.  All 
ammunition  was  put  up  in  metallic  cases,  to  avoid  the  efiicct 
of  moisture  in  the  higher  latitudes.  In  former  expeditions, 
when  paper  cases  have  been  used,  they  have  swollen  so  much 
from  the  moisture  absorbed,  that  it  has  been  necessary  to  pare 
them  off  before  they  would  fit  the  breech  of  the  gun.  This 
serious  objection  is  entirely  obviated  in  the  metallic  cartridges, 
which  have  also  the  advantage  of  being  capable  of  closer 
stowage.  The  charge  for  the  shot-guns  was  too  light  to 
bring  down  game  at  long  distances,  though  the  gun  was 
heavy  enough  to  stand  a  much  larger  charge. 

The  outfit  of  meteorological  instruments  was  furnished  by 


■i 


IU\ 


The  Preparations. 


135 


the  Signal  Office,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  take  the 
observations  requested  by  the  office  at  the  proposed  station  in 
Smith  Sound. 

There  have  been  occasions  in  the  history  of  the  Kavy 
Department,  especially  where  ships  were  to  be  fitted  for  sea, 
when  the  execution  of  an  important  project  has  been  post- 
poned by  obstacles  and  delays  of  one  kind  or  another,  until 
the  opportunity  for  action  has  gone  by,  and  among  the 
multitude  of  officials  engaged  in  the  work,  no  one  is  to 
be  found  who  has  not  an  excuse  for  his  share  of  the  delay. 
It  was  just  here  that  the  active  and  untiring  efforts  of  Secre- 
tary Chandler  were  to  be  seen  and  felt.  Everybody  was 
given  to  understar  1  from  the  start  that  the  ships  must  be 
ready  at  the  designated  time,  and  that  no  excuses  for  failure 
would  be  accepted.  As  early  as  the  4th  of  February,  before 
any  of  the  ships  had  reached  New  York,  a  letter  was  sent  to 
all  the  Cliiefs  of  Bureaus,  which  said  : 

"  The  vessels  of  the  Greely  Relief  Expedition  will  be  fitted  out  by  the 
Navy  Department.  You  will  immediately  familiarize  yourself  with  the 
subject  and  be  prepared  to  perform  any  work  necessary  from  your 
Bureau  thoroughly  and  without  delay.  Dilflculty  has  been  experienced 
in  starting  to  sea  vessels  of  the  Navy  at  the  dates  fixed  for  8ailin,f5,-.  There 
must  be  no  such  failure  in  the  case  of  this  expedition.  You  wi'i 
promptly  call  the  attention  of  the  Department  to  any  questions  upon 
which  you  wish  decisions  or  explicit  directions.  You  will  give  all 
practicable  personal  attention  to  the  business,  in  all  its  details,  trusting 
as  little  as  possible  to  other  persons.  You  will  communicate  freely  with 
the  Chiefs  of  other  Bureaus,  and  with  the  Commanding  officer  of  the 
expedition. 

"  The  subject  is  thus  specially  called  to  your  attention  not  on  account 
of  any  doubt,  but  with  the  fullest  conviction,  that  you,  and  every  officer 
and  seaman  of  the  Navy  who  may  have  r*  'ties  to  perform  in  connectioix 
with  the  Relief  Expedition,  will  gladly  do  the  utmost  to  make  it  success- 
ful, and  to  find  and  relieve  our  imperiled  countrymen,  for  whose  safety 
our  whole  people  are  full  of  anxiety. " 


I 


m 


i 


>,  I 


I 


i 


1^ 


136 


The  Bescue  of  Greely. 


The  survey  of  the  Bear^  the  first  steamer  to  arrive,  was 
completed  on  the  4th  of  March,  and  on  the  8th  the  report 
of  the  Board  of  Survey  was  approved  and  an  order  was 
given  to  begin  tl  \  alteration  of  the  vessel  at  once.  The 
order  was  addressed  to  all  the  officials  connected  with  the 
work — the  Commandant  of  the  New  York  Yard,  and  the 
Cliiefs  of  the  Bureaus  of  Construction,  Steam  Engineering, 
and  Equipment ;  and  it  contained  a  proviso  that  "  it  must, 
however,  be  distinctly  understood  that  no  work  is  to  be  un- 
dertaken on  the  J:'ea)\  or  any  other  shin  of  the  Greely  Helief 
Expedition,  wliicii  can  not  be  fully  completed  v/ithout  delay- 
ing the  expedition  beyond  the  time  which  may  be  fixed  for 
its  departure  from  New  York." 

These  dates,  as  already  noticed,  were  decided  upon  by  the 
ITtli  of  March,  and  all  the  officials  concerned  were  imme- 
diately informed  of  the  decision.  The  work  was  pushed  for- 
ward with  energy,  and  no  detail  was  too  minute  to  receive 
the  attention  of  the  SeCi  ;tary.  He  insisted  upon  satisfying 
himself  personally  t]:at  the  wcrk  was  done,  well  done,  and 
done  in  time.  As  the  tiiiie  approached  for  the  sailing  of  the 
Bea)\  the  following  brief  but  pointed  letter  was  addressed  to 

all  the  Chiefs  of  Bureaus  : 

Navy  Department,  'Wabhinoton, 
Awil  18,  1884. 
Sin  :  You  arc  rcciuestcd  to  inform  the  Dcpiirtment  whether  the  Bear, 
of  the  Orcely  llclief  Expedition,  is  in  all  respects,  so  fur  us  your  Bureau 
is  concerned,  ready  for  sea.     If  she  is  not,  what  work  yet  remains  to  bo 

Very  respectfully, 


done  ? 


William  E.  CiiANDLKn, 

/Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


H: 


On  the  28th  of  April,  a  letter  identical  in  its  language  was 
written,  referring  to  the  T/ietis,  and  another  on  the  Yth  of 


M 


Y( 


The  Preparations. 


137 


May,  referring  to  the  Alert.  As  the  Commander  of  the  Ex- 
pedition had  sailed  before  the  last  date,  additional  copies  of 
the  third  letter  were  sent  to  the  Commandant  of  the  New 
York  Yard  and  to  Commander  CoiSn. 

No  fm'ther  explanation  is  needed  of  the  unusual  fact  that 
ail  expedition,  of  so  elaborate  and  exceptional  a  character, 
sailed  on  the  days  fixed,  and  that  in  the  outfit  and  prepara- 
tions not  a  single  omission  or  defect  cf  importance  was  ever 
discovered. 

Throughout  all  the  work  of  preparation,  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment had  the  cordial  and  earnest  co-operation  of  the  Secretary 
of  War,  and  the  two  Secretaries  were  in  constant  consultation 
upon  questions  relating  to  the  expedition. 

In  addition  to  fitting  out  the  Government  expedition,  it 
was  thought  wise  to  take  such  subsidiary  measures  as  might 
offer  any  promise  of  a  beneficial  result.  To  tliis  end  recjucsts 
were  made  in  February  by  the  State  Department,  through 
the  Consuls  at  Dundee  and  St.  John's,  that  the  owners  of 
sealing  or  whaling  vessels  would  direct  their  captains  to  be 
on  t^'o  lookout  for  signs  of  Greely's  party,  as  it  was  just  pos- 
sible that  they  might  have  drifted  south  on  an  ice-floe  ;  and 
assurances  were  given  that  any  services  performed  by  the 
whalers  would  be  substantially  recognized  by  the  Govern- 
ment. Later,  Congress  wont  beyond  this,  and,  on  the  ITtli 
of  April,  directed  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  offer  a  reward 
of  $25,000  for  the  rescue  of  Grecly  or  for  the  discovery  of 
his  fate. 

Tlie  proclamation  announcing  the  offer  was  issued  l)y  the 
Navy  Dei>artment  on  the  same  day,  and  distributed  through 
the  Legations  and  Consulates  abroad.     It  was  as  follows  : 


■    ( 


I'l^*    • 


i 


I 


! 


itf 


i' 


■i 


• 


i 


)   '     '' 


I,. I 


! 


i; 


138  The  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


proclamation— $25,000  reward. 

United  States  of  America, 

Navt  Department, 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 

April  17,  1884. 

Notice  is  hereby  given  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of 
America  will  pay  a  reward  of  twenty-flve  thousand  dollars,  to  be  equita- 
bly paid  or  distributed  to  such  ship  or  ships,  person  or  persons,  not  in 
the  military  or  naval  service  of  the  United  States,  as  shall  discover  and 
rescue,  or  satisfactorily  ascertain  the  fate  of  the  expedition  of  Lieutenant 
A.  W.  Grcely,  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army,  and  his  command, 
consisting  of  about  twenty-four  persons,  which,  in  tiie  month  of  August, 
in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  landed  from  the  steamer 
Proteus  at  Discovery  Harbor,  in  Lady  Franklin  Sound,  in  latitude  81°  44' 
N.  and  longitude  64'  45'  W. 

Unprepared  vessels  are  warned  not  to  incur  extraordinary  peril  or  risk 
in  the  effort  to  secure  the  reward  hereby  offered  ;  the  United  States  will, 
in  no  event,  bo  involved  in  any  future  liability  or  responsibility  beyond 
said  reward  ;  and  the  determination  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  as  to 
the  right  of  any  man  to  said  reward,  or  a  share  thereof,  shall  be  conclu- 
sive upon  all  persons. 

Witness  niy  hand,  at  the  Navy  Department,  in  Washington,  on  said 
seventeenth  day  of  April,  a.d.  1884. 

William  E.  Chandler, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Tho  proclamation  was  received  at  St.  John's  before  the 
whalers  set  out  for  Melville  Bay,  and  aroused  the  greatest 
interest  among  them.  Most  of  them  resolved  to  make  an 
effort  to  obtain  the  reward,  and  tho  result  was  that  the  whal- 
ing cruise  of  1884:  to  the  North  Water  was  marked  by  a 
competition  and  a  zest  far  beyond  those  which  ordinarilj' 
characterize  tho  passage. 


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CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  RELIEF  SQUADRON. 

The  plan  upon  wliich  the  N^avy  Department  had  acted  in 
the  preparation  of  the  expedition,  as  described  in  the  last 
chapter,  and  wliich  it  proposed  to  follow  to  the  end,  was  clear 
and  consistent.  As  soon  as  the  decision  was  reached  that  it 
was  to  take  a  part  in  the  enterprise,  it  obtained  the  fullest 
advice  as  to  the  needs  of  the  service.  Before  the  resolution 
was  passed  it  took  measures  to  secure  8uital)le  ships.  Having 
provided  these,  it  selected  a  commander,  and  it  placed  at  his 
disposal  the  whole  machinery  of  the  Department  and  Bu- 
reaus. He  was  to  ask  for  everything  he  wanted  ;  the  Secre- 
tary took  care  that  it  should  be  supplied.  Ships,  officers, 
men,  provisions,  stores,  equipment,  clothing, — ho  had  but  to 
sa}  hat  he  needed  them  and  he  had  them  if  any  country  in 
the  world  could  supply  them.  That  all  was  accomplislicd 
according  to  the  commander's  fullest  wish,  and  accomplished 
at  the  time  he  fixed,  showed  an  extraordinary  energy  on  the 
part  of  the  Department.  Of  course  it  w;is  not  done  without 
an  unwearied  effort,  a  close  attention  of  the  Secretary  himself 
to  the  minutest  details,  a  personal  certainty  on  his  own  part 
that  every  order  was  executed  to  the  letter,  witli  promi)tiieKs 
and  fullness.  So  much  for  the  preparations.  The  same  })liin 
was  followed  in  laying  out  the  work  of  the  expedition, 
llecognizlug  that  it  was  impossible  to  give  iiistructions  for 

every  contingency  in  u  voyage  in  the  Arctic  seas,  and  that  if 

(180) 


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140 


Tlte  Itescue  of  Greely. 


an  officer  is  fit  to  command  at  all,  he  is  fit  also  to  judge  of  the 
best  method  to  accomplish  on  the  spot  a  known  end,  when  he 
is  supplied  with  all  the  means  he  has  asked  for,  the  Secre- 
tary hampered  the  commander  of  the  expedition  with  no 
■  minute  directions  as  to  what  should  be  done  in  this  or  that 
hypothesis,  but  left  him  i\'<}.Q  as  air  to  act  accc  iing  to  his 
discretion.  From  his  first  connection  with  the  expedition 
to  the  time  he  sailed,  the  Department  only  laid  upon  him 
three  simple  injunctions :  first,  to  ac  juaint  himself  with 
the  circumstances  of  Greely's  voyage  in  1881,  and  of  the 
attempts  of  1882  raid  1883,  and  with  Arctic  expeditions 
in  general ;  secondly,  to  ask  for  everything  the  expedition 
neodxl;  and  finally,  to  take  his  ships  and  proceed  to  the 
coast  of  Greenland,  or  further  north,  and  "find  and  rescue 
or  ascertain  the  fate  "  of  the  lost  explorers. 
The  final  orders  were  as  follows : 

Navy  Dei'Aktment, 

Wasiiinoton,  April  21,  1884. 

Sir  :  The  Thetis,  Bear,  and  Alert,  the  ships  of  the  Greely  Relief  Ex- 
pedition of  1884,  being  ready,  you  are  ordered  to  take  command  of  them 
and  to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  Greenland,  or  further  north  if  necessary, 
and,  if  ])ossible,  to  And  and  rescue,  or  ascertiiin  the  fate  of  Lieutenant 
A.  W.  Greoly  and  his  comrades. 

All  the  ofllcers  and  men  under  your  command  are  hereby  enjoined  to 
perform  any  duty  on  sea  or  land  to  which  you  may  order  them.  No 
detailed  instructions  will  be  given  you.  Full  confidence  is  felt  that  you 
have  both  the  capacity  and  the  courajj;e,  guided  by  discretion,  necessary 
to  do  all  that  can  be  required  of  you  by  the  Department  or  the  nation 
for  tlin  rescue  of  our  imperiled  countrymen. 

With  earnest  wishes  and  high  hopes  for  your  success  and  safe  return, 
I  am.  Very  respectfully, 

William  E.  Chandlku. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Commander  Winfikld  S.  Schtky,  U.  S.  N., 

Gommaniliriff  the  Orcein/  Iteluf  Expedition, 


The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadron.         141 


The  plan  adopted  was  one  calculated  to  call  forth  all  a 
man's  efforts  i^  their  highest  and  fullest  activity.  Power 
and  responsibility  were  placed  from  the  first,  and  placed  in 
a  single  individual,  and  the  fullest  confidence  was  shown  that 
the  desired  result  would  be  attained. 

Th«^  Secretary,  while  untiring  in  his  attention  to  details, 
never  seemed  to  feel  any  apprehension  as  to  the  fate  of  his 
expedition.  At  Portsmouth,  after  the  return  of  the  Relief 
Squadron,  some  one  asked  him  whether  he  had  not  been  anx- 
ious as  to  the  result.  "  Never  for  a  moment,"  said  Mr.  Chan- 
dler, promptly ;  "  I  thought  it  possible  that  one  of  the  ships 
might  be  lost,  or  even  two  of  them  ;  but  there  is  this  advan- 
tage about  being  nipped  in  the  ice,  that  you  have  always  the 
ice  as  a  refuge.  The  preparations  were  so  complete,  and  the 
precautions  taken  in  the  event  of  any  disaster  so  perfect,  that 
I  was  sure  that,  no  matter  what  happened,  the  result  would 
be  accomplished,  and  that  without  further  calamity." 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  during  the  preparation  of 
the  expedition  of  1884  there  was  little  encouragement  to  be 
drawn  from  popular  or  newspaper  utterances ;  the  recollec- 
tion of  all  the  disasters  in  the  Arctic  regions,  and  especially 
of  those  which  had  recently  overtaken  the  brave  DeLong 
and  his  fellows  in  the  Lena  delta,  was  too  fresh  in  the  public 
mind  to  permit  any  ^reat  hope  of  success  for  this  new  enter- 
prise. It  was  generally  felt  that  it  was  a  pity  that  there 
should  be  a  necessity  of  offering  new  material  to  almost  cer- 
tain sacrifice;  and  though  all  the  pcojtlc  who  vis'tcd  the 
ships  before  their  departure  felt  that  the  Government  was 
in  duty  bound  to  attempt  Greedy 's  relief,  there  were  many 
who  freely  expressed  their  regret  that  the  expcMlition  should 
set  forth  on  what  seemed  to  thoni  not  only  a  fruitless  but  a 
fatal  errand. 


142 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


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It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  this  prevalent  feeling  did 
not  have  a  very  depressing  influence  upon  the  oflScers  of  the 
expedition.  With  regard  to  Greely's  situation  there  was  of 
course  much  thought  and  discussion,  but  it  was  recognized 
as  being  largely  a  matter  of  conjecture.  The  three  com- 
manders, in  their  frequent  conversations,  were  never  willing 
to  admit  the  possibility  that  a  general  catastrophe  had  taken 
place.  As  for  the  work  of  the  relief  expedition  itself,  while 
there  was  no  apprehension  of  disaster,  there  was  no  expecta- 

on  that  success  would  come  with  a  hurrah ;  and  it  was  rec- 
oxyCze^  as  a  serious  imdertaking,  to  which  everybody  must 
give  his  best  efforts.  The  officers  and  men  of  the  expedition 
sailed,  if  not  with  a  certain,  a'  least  with  a  possible  prospect 
of  wintering  beyond  Kane  Sea ;  and  although  few  of  them 
knew  much  about  ice  navigation  except  what  they  had  read 
of  its  dangers,  and  the  events  of  the  last  two  years  did  not 
offer  much  encouragement  to  the  hopes  of  the  public  at  l.'irge, 
such  considerations  did  not  lead  those  connected  with  the 
squadron  to  have  any  doubts  about  a  successful  result. 

Although  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  an  officer  who  has  the 
right  spirit  will  always  set  about  any  serious  duty  with  the 
intention  of  doing  his  best,  it  is  due  to  the  officers  and  men 
of  the  relief  squadron  to  say  that  all  of  them  knew  that  the 
object  of  the  voyage  was  something  above  and  beyond  the 
ordinary  calls  of  service,  and  that  they  felt  an  earnestness  of 
purpose  which  a  mere  exploring  exi^edition  would  hardly 
have  callo'^  forth.  At  any  rate,  whatever  may  have  been 
tlieir  feelings,  they  certainly  evinced  a  deterniination  to  spare 
no  pains,  to  incur  any  exposure,  to  assume  any  required  risk, 
and  to  1)0  unflagging  in  watching  for  opportunities  to  gain  a 
mile,  a  yard,  or  a  foot  on  the  journey  toward  Greely  and  his 
party. 


The  Departure  of  the  Belief  Squadron.  143 

The  Bear^  being  most  advanced  in  her  preparations,  had 
been  designated  as  the  first  vessel  to  depart.  Her  sailing 
orders  were  signed  on  the  16th  of  April,  and  directed  her  to 
proceed  to  Disko  and  Upernivik,  stopping  on  the  way  at  St. 
John's  only  long  enough  to  fill  up  with  coal  and  take  on 
board  the  few  supplies  awaiting  her.  After  engaging  Eskimo 
dog-drivers  for  the  three  ships,  the  Bear  was  to  wait  for  the 
Thetis  at  Upernivik,  unless  news  had  been  received  there  of 
Greely's  arrival  at  Littleton  Island,  or  unless  special  circmn- 
stances  justified  an  advance.  Neither  contingency  was  very 
probable,  as  there  is  no  communication  between  Cape  York 
and  the  Danish  settlements,  and  Melville  Bay  was  not  likely 
to  be  open  at  that  date.  If  the  Bear  crossed  the  Bay,  she 
was  to  wait  for  the  other  ships  before  advancing  into  Kane 
Sea,  unless  the  delay  was  so  long  as  to  lead  to  the  belief  that 
no  other  ships  would  arrive.  In  passing  north  from  Cape 
York,  the  coast  was  to  be  searched,  and  cairns  were  to  be 
placed  with  records  for  the  other  ships  at  prominent  points, 
of  which  exact  indications  were  to  be  given  beforehand.  If 
Greely  and  his  party  were  discovered,  they  were  to  be  brought 
to  Upernivik,  and  a  record  of  the  fact  left  at  LHtleton  Island, 
Cape  Parry,  and  Conical  Rock. 

General  directions  were  given  as  to  the  conduct  of  the 
voyage.  Sixty  days'  provisions  were  to  be  kept  on  deck 
from  the  moment  of  arriving  in  the  ice  regions,  and  the  men 
were  to  have  exact  and  frequent  exercises  at  "  fire-quarters," 
and  in  "  abandoning  ship." 

The  date  fixed  for  the  departure  of  the  Bear  from  New 
York  was  the  25th  of  April.  It  was  discovered  that  this 
(late  foil  on  Friday,  and  in  deference  to  the  well-known  sailor 
superstition,  it  was  thought  best  to  take  another  day.    It  had 


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144 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


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been  determined,  however,  tb'vt  none  of  the  ships  should  be 
an  hour  beiiind  the  appointed  date,  and  the  only  alternative 
was  to  anticipate  it.  So  the  preparations  were  hurried  with 
redoubled  energy,  and  the  Bear  set  out  on  Thursday,  April 
"24th. 

It  was  half-past  three  in  the  afternoon  when  the  advance 
ship,  leaving  her  moorings  at  the  Kavy  Yard,  steamed  slowly 
down  the  East  River  and  out  of  the  harbor  of  Kew  York. 
The  wharves  on  the  Brooklyn  and  New  York  sides  were 
thronged  with  cheering  crowds  of  people,  while  the  steamers 
and  other  shipping  of  the  port  were  dressed  with  flags  and 
pennants.  Tha  good  wishes  and  the  godspeed  were  universal. 

The  last  message  from  the  Navy  Department  was  a  dis- 
patch telegraphed  that  morning  from  Washington  to  Lieut. 
Emory : 

I  wish  you  and  all  your  comrades  good  health,  good  courage,  and  good 

luck.    Good-bye. 

Wm.  E.  Chandler, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

A  week  later,  at  half -past  two  on  the  afternoon  of  May  1st, 
the  Thetis  sailed  from  New  York,  followed  by  the  same 
deir  lustrations  of  interest  and  sympathy.  Salutes  were  fired 
from  the  Navy  Yard,  from  Governor's  Island,  and  from  Fort 
Hamilton,  the  relief  ship  dipping  her  colors  in  return.  The 
Tallapoosa  followed  her  to  the  lower  bay,  and  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  gave  her  in  person  his  last  good-bye.  At  Sandy 
Hook  lightship,  the  TJietis  was  swung  to  determine  the  devi- 
ation of  her  compasses,  and  immediately  after  she  proceeded 
to  sea. 

The  passage  to  St.  John's  lasted  eight  days,  with  fine 
weather.    On  the  third  day  out  the  connecting  rod  of  the  air- 


I 


T}ie  Departure  of  tJie  Relief  Stjuadron.  145 

pura2>  broke.  It  was  rather  a  discouraging  circumstance  to 
meet  with  such  an  accident  so  early  in  the  voyage,  but  thanks 
to  the  efforts  of  Chief-Engineer  Melville,  it  resulted  in  only 
a  slight  delay.  He  went  to  work  at  the  forge  himself  and 
spent  the  night  in  forging  a  new  rod.  The  ship  continued 
on  her  voyage,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  May  9th,  she 
steamed  into  the  harbor  of  St.  John's. 

The  Bear  had  arrived  on  May  2d,  after  a  severe  passage 
of  seven  days,  part  of  the  time  in  a  thick  fog.  On  the  third 
day  out  she  encountered  a  heavy  gale,  which  carried  away 
the  bridge.  She  remained  at  St.  John's  only  two  days,  just 
long  enough  to  renew  her  store  of  coal,  and  to  receive  the 
supplies  which  Consul  MoUoy  had  ready  for  her, — sealskin 
boots  and  Elsinore  caps  for  her  crew,  dogs  from  Labrador 
for  sled-work,  and  fresh  provisions.  The  injuries  received 
on  the  way  up  were  not  allow^ed  to  cause  any  additional  de- 
lay, only  the  iron-work  being  refitted  in  port,  and  enough 
lumber  was  taken  on  board  to  complete  the  repairs  at  sea. 

On  the  3d,  Lieutenant  Emory  wrote  to  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, giving  an  account  of  what  he  had  learned  at  St.  John's, 
and  of  his  proposed  movements.     He  said : 

"  I  had  the  honor  to  advise  you  by  cable  to-day  that  this  season  is  con- 
sidered as  propitious  for  favorable  ice  conditions.  Northeasterly  gales 
have  prevailed  in  this  vicinity  for  some  weeks  ;  if  they  have  in  the 
Arctic  seas,  as  there  is  reason  to  believe,  the  ice  will  have  been  set  in 
motion  to  the  southward  sooner  than  usual. 

"The  sealing  season  closed  this  year  the  25th  of  April,  so  that  all  the 
sealing  vessels  and  whalers  in  that  pursuit  have  returned  to  port.  These 
steamers  do  not  go  to  the  northward  of  the  coast  of  Labrador  for  seals, 
so  that  the  information  regarding  the  ico  conditions  in  the  Arctic  can  not 
be  otherwise  than  the  opinions  of  their  respective  masters. 

"  AH  these  steamers  report  an  unusual  ciuantlty  of  ice  packed  off  the 
Straits  of  Belle  Isle  and  the  southern  coast  of  Labrador.  In  fact  the 
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146 


7%e  Rescue  of  Greely. 


Neptune,  the  most  successful  vessel  this  season,  was  jammed  in  the  ice, 
and  her  master,  while  regretting  the  fact  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed 
with  the  other  steamers  to  what  he  considered  the  best  sealing  ground, 
suddenly  found  himself  surrounded  by  seals,  and  in  a  few  days  returned 
to  port  with  forty-one  thousand  harps  [young  seals],  his  ship  loaded  to 
her  gunwales.     The  steamers  off  shore  all  returned  empty. 

"  The  above  observations  have  'determined  me  to  pursue  the  following 
course  after  leaving  this  port :  1  ake  the  middle  passage  of  Davis  Straits, 
and  Avhcn  my  progress  is  obstructed  by  ice,  skirt  its  edge  until  I  reach 
the  Greenland  coast,  thence  along  the  edge  of  the  foot-ice  to  Disko  and 
Upernivik.  Should  my  early  arrival  at  the  latter  port  be  prevented  by 
ice,  I  will  then  be  able  to  find  a  lee  on  the  coast,  or  make  one  in  the  foot- 
ice,  to  await  a  favorable  opportunity  of  proceeding. 

"  Should  I  be  able  to  steam  with  dispatch  to  Upernivik,  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  tarry  at  Disko  ;  I  will  communicate  only  by  boat,  leaving 
dispatches  for  Commander  Schley.  Should  the  ice  delay  us  on  the  coast 
of  Greenland  to  the  southward  of  Disko,  I  will  communicate  with  Hol- 
steinborg.  At  the  latter  place  I  would  be  able  to  obtain  news  from  Uper- 
nivik of  15th  February,  and  send  a  mail  home  via  Copenhagen.  My 
instructions  say ;  '  You  may  proceed  beyond  Upernivik  if  any  special 
circumstances  justify  such  movement.'  If  upon  my  arrival  at  Upernivik 
I  find  that  the  ice  conditions  are  favorable  for  the  passage  of  Melville  Bay, 
I  will  attempt  it  without  delay.  I  have  advised  the  Department  by  cable 
that  two  steam  whalers,  the  Narwhal  and  the  EsqxUmaux,  have  sailed, 
and  that  the  Arctic  and  the  Polynia  would  leave  next  week  for  Cape 
York  and  the  north  water,  and  that  their  departure  two  weeks  earlier 
than  usual  was  due  to  the  Greely  rewards  In  addition  to  these  vessels 
which  I  have  named,  several  whalers  have  left  Dundee  for  the  same  des- 
tination. All  these  vessels  have  instructions  for  the  rescue  of  the  Greely 
party.  In  making  this  attempt  the  whalers  are  only  put  to  the  additional 
expense  of  two  weeks  earlier  in  commission.  Their  intentions  are  to  com- 
municuto  with  Cape  York,  and  should  they  rescue  Lieutenant  Greely 
and  his  party,  to  land  them  at  Upernivik ;  so  the  only  departure  from 
their  regular  cruise  will  be  a  departure  of  two  weeks  earlier  than  usual, 
and  a  second  passage  of  Melville  Bay.  It  is  not  the  intention  of  these 
whalers,  nor  Imve  they  the  authority,  to  go  beyond  Littleton  Island. 
These  stcain  whalers  are  ably  commanded,  and  are  efRcicntly  fitted  out. 
Their  masters  are  ambitious  to  secure  the  Greely  party ;  and,  although 
the  reward  will  not  be  a  secondary  consideration,  they  are  one  and  all 
desirous  of  obtaining  the  prestige  of  the  rescue.  From  information  that 
I  can  gather,  it  would  seem  that  the  Arctic  will  be  our  only  dangerous 


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The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadron.  147 


competitor.  She  is  not  stronger  thau  the  Bear  or  Thetis,  but  has  more 
powerful  engines.  I  have  arranged  everything  at  this  place  to  avoid 
any  delay  to  the  Thetis,  and  have  left  full  information  of  every  event  for 
Commander  Schley,  also  of  my  future  intentions. 

"  I  am  led  to  believe  that  even  should  the  season  prove  most  favorable, 
Commander  Schley  will  be  able  to  reach  Upernivik  before  ^riy  vessel 
can  undertake  or  attempt  the  passage  of  Melville  Bay.  Should  he  not 
arrive  before  I  leave  I  feel  sure  my  decision  to  sail  for  Cape  York  at  the 
first  moment  practicable  will  meet  with  your  approval  and  that  of  the 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  expedition." 

On  the  4tli  further  intelligence  had  been  obtained  of  the 
movements  of  the  whalers,  and  Emory  wrote  : 

"  The  following-named  vessels  (steam  whalers)  have  sailed  for  the  whale 
fishery  of  Lancaster  Sound  and  Pond's  Inlet,  via  Melville  Bay,  and  their 
masters  are  intending  to  go,  at  least  to  Littleton  Island,  in  the  endeavor 
to  get  the  $25,000  reward. 

Triune,  \ 

CornwaXlis,       I      Barque  rigged  ;  sailed  two  or  three  weeks  ago  from 

Nova  Zemhla,   ["  Dundee  ;  are  now  in  Davis  Straits. 

Jan  Maen,       ) 

Narichal,  sailed  April  36,  from  St.  John's  for  North  "Water. 

Esquimaux,  "     May  3, 

Polynia,  will  sail  May  4  to  5,  "  " 

Arctic,      "     "    May  6,         "  " 

Aurora,    "    "    May  7  to  8,"  "  " 

Resolute,  will  sail  for  the  east  coast  of  Greenland.  If  the  fishing  is 
bad,  may  go  up  the  west  coast  for  the  reward." 

Of  the  whalers  mentioned,  the  Resolute  was  the  oiily  one 
which  the  expedition  never  met.  The  Jam,  Maen  and  the 
Esquimaux  were  only  fallen  in  with  on  the  return  trip.  Tlie 
other  seven,  together  with  the  Wolf  of  St.  John's,  attempted 
the  passage  of  Melville  Bay  in  company  with  the  relief  ships. 

On  the  4th  the  Bear  put  to  sea  again,  bound  for  Disko. 
The  passage  waa  rough  and  stormy.     On  the  way  up  the 


5 


fit 

I 


I. 


k 


148 


The  liesGue  of  Greely. 


s  ir^ 


:|i 


I 


days  began  sensibly  to  lengthen,  until  the  Arctic  circle  was 
reached.  From  this  time  the  sun  never  went  below  the  hori- 
zon, until  the  same  point  was  passed  on  the  return,  and  the 
oflScers  and  men  experienced  the  novel  sensation  of  being 
obliged  to  manufacture  darkness  for  purposes  of  sleep.  The 
first  field  ice  was  met  ofE  Holfl"teinborg,  and  on  the  13th  the 
Bear  arrived  at  Godhavn.  Hardly  stopping,  Emory  hur- 
ried on,  steaming  up  the  western  shore  of  Disko  Island,  but 
when  abreast  of  Haroen,  or  Hare  Island,  he  found  the  ice 
impenetrable.  A  gale  was  blowing  from  the  southward  with 
no  signs  of  abating.  With  the  wind  from  this  direction 
nothing  could  be  done.  The  danger  of  remaining  to  wind- 
ward of  the  pack,  and  near  its  edge,  was  a  risk  that  no  pru- 
dent commander  could  run.  So  the  Bear  returned  to  God- 
havn to  wait  for  a  change  of  wind. 

On  the  way  back  along  the  west  shore  of  the  island,  the  Bear 
sighted  two  steamers  coming  in  to  Godhavn.  These  were 
the  whalers  Polynia  and  N^ova  Zenibla.  The  Polynia  had 
left  St.  John's  the  day  after  the  Bear.  She  was  commanded 
by  Captain  Walker,  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  of  the 
whaling  captains  in  the  fleet.  The  I^ova  Zemhla  had  been 
cruising  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  for  seals,  and  later 
in  Davis  Strait  for  bottle-nosed  whales.  These  two  were  the 
first  of  the  Dundee  whaling  fleet  which  were  met  by  either 
of  the  relief  ships  in  the  Greenland  waters.  As  Emory  had 
been  told  at  St.  John's,  they  were  on  their  annual  cruise  after 
fish,  but  they  intended  before  going  to  Lancaster  Sound  to 
make  an  effort  to  secure  the  £5,000  reward.  The  CornwalUs 
and  Narwhal  had  been  seen  off  Disko  some  days  before,  but 
had  gone  off  to  the  southwest  and  disappeared. 

The  Bear  ran  in  and  anchored  near  the  entrance  of  the 


The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadr(m.  149 

harbor,  wliere  she  remained  three  days.  During  this  delay 
precautions  were  taken  to  put  everything  in  readiness,  for 
the  event  o^  a  possible  disaster.  Provisions  were  got  up  and 
stowed  on  deck.  The  boats  were  filled  with  men  and  provis- 
ions, and  a  trial  of  them  was  made  to  see  if  they  would  carry 
their  loads.  The  spare  propeller  was  got  up  out  of  the  hold, 
and  lashed  in  the  port  gangway.  The  crew  was  exercised  in 
"  abandoning  ship "  on  the  ice-foot,  and  torpedoes  were  ex- 
ploded in  the  ice  to  test  their  effect. 

At  Godhavn  the  Bear  purchased  from  Peterson,  the  gov- 
ernor, a  team  of  seven  trained  Eskimo  dogs,  in  addition  to 
the  eighteen  Labrador  dogs  she  had  taken  on  board  at  St. 
John's.  As  a  rule,  the  Labrador  dog  is  a  more  satisfactory 
animal  than  his  cousin  from  Greenland.  He  is  a  little  more 
tractable  and  takes  naturally  to  his  work,  when  the  Eskimo 
dog  must  be  driven.  Moreover  he  is  a  water-dog,  and  will 
swim  from  floe  to  floe  across  leads,  where  the  other  must  be 
ferried  over — a  matter  of  great  importance  in  working  over 
the  ice.  Both  breeds  eat  enormously,  but  with  the  difference 
that  the  Eskimo  will  not  work  for  some  time  after  eating, 
while  Labrador  dogs  are  ready  at  all  times.  All  of  them  are 
savage  and  wolfish  to  a  degree,  and  if  a  man  falls  on  the  ice 
they  will  attack  him  at  once. 

"With  an  Eskimo  team  a  king  must  be  chosen,  and  the  dogs 
fight  day  and  night  until  the  strongest  comes  to  the  front. 
During  this  process  they  are  virtually  useless,  if  they  have 
not  been  previously  trained  to  the  sleds.  Even  when  it  is 
over,  the  mastery  must  be  established  anew  whenever  dogs 
from  different  teams  are  brought  together.  When  the  king- 
ship is  once  admitted  the  entire  team  are  ready  to  yield  him  the 
most  crouching  subserviency.    The  king  dog  always  lies  on 


\  h 


I  ,» 


■' ■ 

,     1      ' 

\ 

t 

f 


1 


150 


The  Rescue  of  Oreeh/. 


i 


the  sled  and  the  others  about  him  on  the  ice.  In  travelHng, 
a  growl  from  the  king  is  enough  to  start  up  all  the  dogs, 
and  it  fares  ill  with  any  one  that  heeds  it  not.  A  skulker 
is  always  punished  when  the  team  returns  from  a  journey, 
not  only  by  the  king,  but  by  the  whole  pack,  who  pitch  upon 
liim  and  finally  kill  him,  if  he  is  not  rescued  from  them  in 
time. 

The  Greenland  dog  undergoes  the  worst  possible  treatment 
from  his  Eskimo  master,  and  is  made  to  endure  all  sorts  of 
exposure  and  liardship  on  a  minimum  allowance  of  food — 
perhaps  a  pound  and  a  half  of  seal  meat,  which  he  gets  once 
a  day.  If  he  licks  the  hand  he  is  generally  rewarded  with  a 
kick,  and  if  he  seeks  shelter  he  is  driven  off  to  the  ice.  He 
is  expected  to  be  ready  at  all  times  for  work,  and  always  to 
keep  up  his  endurance  with  nothing  in  his  stomach.  If  he 
dies  under  this  treatment,  his  master  wonders  what  killed  him  ^ 
but  in  fact  the  only  cause  for  wonder  is  that  he  manages  to 
live  at  all. 

On  Wednesday,  the  2l8t,  the  wind  came  out  from  the 
north,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  Bear  left  Godhavn  and 
once  more  steamed  up  to  Hare  Island.  The  two  whalers  had 
started  betimes  in  the  morning,  but  about  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening  the  Bear  ])assed  them,  both  under  sail,  beating  up 
to  the  northward.  The  pack  was  still  dense,  and  the  move- 
ment of  the  heavy  floes  in  the  tidal  currents  about  the  north 
end  of  Disko  Island  was  full  of  danger.  The  Bear  advanced 
slowly  and  tediously  through  tortuous  leads,  until  on  the  23d 
she  had  crossed  the  mouth  of  the  Waigat  and  worked  in  to  the 
land  near  Noursoak.  Here  half  a  dozen  natives  came  out  in 
their  kayaks,  among  them  those  whom  Ln  utonant  Colwell 
had  sent  on  the  year  before  to  Godhavn,  to  bring  the 


Tlie  Departure  of  the  Belief  Sqiiadron.  151 

Yantic  tlie  news  of  his  approach.  Colwell  was  on  board  the 
Bear,  and  they  recognized  him  at  once,  and  were  made 
happy  with  a  present  of  bread  and  tobacco. 

Steaming  along  the  land  through  ice  heavily  rafted,  the 
Bear  made  slow  progress  during  the  next  two  days.  The 
mouth  of  Omenak  Fiord  was  passed,  and  on  the  25th,  the 
ship  was  tied  up  to  a  large  sheet  of  ice  off  Svarten  Iluk.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  sheet  a  third  whaler,  the  Triu7ie,  was 
found  at  anchor.  She  had  been  here  a  week  rejjairing  her 
boilers.  A  few  miles  to  the  northward  were  two  more,  the 
Aurora  and  Comwallis.  It  was  learned  from  some  of  the 
Trlune'^s  people  who  walked  over  the  ico  to  the  Bear,  that 
another,  the  Narwhal,  had  succeeded  in  getting  still  further 
up.  Of  the  fleet  of  eight  vessels  that  was  destined  to  ac- 
company the  relief  ships  into  Melville  Bay,  these  four,  with 
the  Polynia  and  Nova  Zemhla,  some  distance  in  the  rear, 
were  all  that  had  as  yet  made  their  appearance. 

No  further  progress  was  made  that  day,  and  very  little  on 
the  next.  On  the  27th,  however,  the  pack  moved  off,  leaving 
open  water  with  occasional  streams  of  ice  to  the  northward, 
and  the  Bear  cast  off  early  in  the  morning,  and  putting  on 
full  speed  steamed  all  day  along  the  coast.  At  seven  in  the 
evening  she  i)a?8cd  the  Comwallis,  and  at  ton  the  Nanvhal. 
Tue  Aurora  was  still  ahead,  and  the  Aurora,  as  the  relief 
ships  afterwards  learned,  was  not  easily  to  be  beaten.  Under 
the  circumstances,  Emory,  linding  he  had  clear  water  which, 
for  all  hj  knew,  might  extend  across  the  buy,  continued  on 
his  course  without  stopping  at  Upernivik,  and  did  not  bring 
up  until  he  reached  Brown  Island,  eighteen  miles  beyond, 
where  ho  was  headed  off  by  a  solid  barrier.  The  Aurora, 
which  ho  had  passed  just  before,  anchored  about  two  miles  off 


1 


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I'  ! 


i 


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:( 


J 


il 


' 


i 


ii 


I 


152 


77i6  Hesoue  of  Greely. 


from  liim  on  the  edge  of  the  ice,  where  she  was  joined  soon 
after  by  the  Cormvallis  and  Narwhal.  The  Bear  waited 
eight  hours  at  Brown  Island,  but  there  was  not  the  shghtest 
encouragement  for  expecting  a  break-up,  and  Emory  rehic- 
taritly  steamed  back.  Late  in  the  evening  he  picked  up  a 
native  in  his  kayak,  and  induced  him  to  pilot  the  sliip  into 
XJpernivik,  where  she  arrived  at  10.40  p.m.,  tlie  Polynia^ 
Triune^  and  Nova  Zemhla  getting  in  from  the  southward 
just  ahead  of  her. 

Meanwhile,  the  Thetis^  after  her  arrival  at  St.  John's 
on  the  9th,  had  remained  tliere  two  days  and  a  half,  long 
enough  to  take  on  board  supplies  similar  to  those  received  by 
tlio  Bear,  including  eighteen  Labrador  clogs.  During  this 
time  the  weatiior  was  foggy  and  rainy.  Sleet  storms  oc- 
curred once  or  twice,  and  the  temperature  fell  to  about  40°. 
The  iiccessary  boating  was  wet  and  disagreeable  work,  though 
the  weather  did  not  interfere  with  the  preparation  of  the 
ship  for  sea.  During  her  stay  the  Thetis  was  visited  by 
several  of  the  English  officers  from  the  Tenedos,  and  other 
ships  of  war  lying  in  port.  One  of  the  oflicers  had  been  in 
the  Hope  with  Sir  Allen  Young,  when  she  rescued  Leigh 
Smith,  and  examining  the  Thetis  with  the  critical  eye  of  an 
expert  in  Arctic  matters,  he  seemed  to  be  strongly  impressed 
with  the  thorouglincHS  with  which  she  had  been  iitted  out. 

On  Saturday  night,  while  the  parts  of  tiie  engine  were  be- 
ing conneccud  ioT  sea,  a  small  brass  bearing  was  lost  in  some 
unaccountable  way.  The  next  day  Melville  went  on  shore  to 
replace  it,  but  as  it  was  Sunday,  he  could  not  induce  any  ono 
to  give  him  assistance,  although  ho  was  free  to  take  the  keys 
of  the  shops  to  work  if  ho  choso.    Nothing  could  bo  doiio 


The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadron.         153 

beyond  getting  brass  enough  to  enable  him  to  fit  a  proper 
fixture  himself,  the  inhabitants  concluding  that  Americans 
were  "  a  race  of  Sabbath-breakers,"  and  that  no  good  would 
come  to  them  if  they  worked  on  a  Sunday. 

At  St.  John's,  one  of  the  firemen  was  found  to  be  dis- 
qualified for  work  and  exposure  at  the  north,  and  lie  was 
sent  ashore  to  bo  returned  to  the  United  States.  As  one  of 
the  machinists  had  been  injured  on  the  way  up,  and  there 
was  some  doubt  as  to  the  probable  time  of  his  recovery,  an- 
other man  waB  enlisted  for  the  service. 

Among  the  articles  taken  on  board  at  St.  John's  were  two 
thousand  pounds  of  beef  and  vegetables  which  were  intended 
to  afford  all  hands  a  fresh  meat  and  vegetable  ration  once  or 
twice  a  week  until  the  region  of  deer  or  otlier  game  was 
reached.  The  beef  was  covered  with  gunny  sacking 
and  hung  up  in  the  rigging  out  of  reach  of  the  dogs.  A 
day's  sail  from  St.  John's  carried  the  ships  into  cold 
weather  and  a  freezing  temperature,  so  that  the  beef  was 
frozen  hard  and  all  danger  of  fepoiling  removed.  It  was  in- 
tended to  keep  at  least  two  quarters  exclusively  for  Lieuten- 
ant Groely  and  his  party,  for  it  was  recognized  from  the  be- 
ginning that  when  found  they  would  probably  be  in  a  desti- 
tute condition. 

The  coaling  steamer  Loch  Garry^  which  had  been  char- 
tered to  carry  500  tons  of  Cardiff  coal  in  bags  to  Littleton 
Island  for  the  use  of  the  expedition,  was  found  waiting  at 
this  point.  She  was  an  ordinary  iron  steamer  of  1,000  tons, 
entirely  unprepared  for  the  ice,  although  her  crew  had  seen 
some  service  at  the  North,  and  her  master.  Captain  Kobert 
Jones,  was  an  experienced  ice  navigator,  whose  knowledge 
was  of  great  use  in  the  management  of  Lis  ship.     Notv/ith- 


■I 


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I        I 


I 


\, 


\\ 


''•;/ 


i 


I: 


i 


i 


'ip  Li!;! 


'I'll !!;,, 


164 


TJte  ResGite  of  Greely. 


standing  lier  defects,  the  importance  of  having  coal  at  hand 
was  so  great  that  it  was  necessary  to  take  some  risk  in  get- 
ting it  to  the  point  where  it  was  wanted. 

Ensign  Chambers,  of  the  TJietis^  was  detailed  for  duty  on 
board  the  Loch  Ga/rry  to  represent  the  Government,  and  to 
protect  its  interests  in  its  responsibility  for  the  ship  and 
cargo  from  the  time  of  her  sailing  until  her  return  to  St. 
John's.  Two  seamen  were  detailed  from  the  Thetis  for 
duty  with  him,  and  were  required  to  keep  a  regular  watch. 
The  master's  position  was  to  be  verified  each  day,  and  he 
was  required  by  written  instructions  to  follow  the  directions 
given  by  Ensign  Chambers  as  to  his  movements.  While 
the  two  ships  I'emained  in  company,  the  Loch  Garry  was  di- 
rected to  take  a  position  at  three  cables'  distance  on  the  star- 
board quarter  of  the  Thetis. 

The  two  vessels  left  St.  John's  at  6  a.m..  May  12th,  and 
soon  after  clearing  the  harbor  were  enveloped  in  a  dense  fog. 
During  the  afternoon  the  wind  hauled  to  the  northeast,  and 
blew  up  into  a  gale  with  heavy  sea,  which  increased  very 
much  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  prescribed  distance.  To- 
wards 5  P.M.,  broken  lumps  of  ice  were  reported  ahead,  but 
they  were  discovered  to  be  the  washings  from  an  iceberg 
soon  after  seen  through  the  fog  close  aboard.  At  this  time, 
an  iceberg  was  looked  upon  with  considerable  concern,  as  a 
formidable  and  dangerous  object,  and  to  come  within  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  of  it  was  regarded  as  getting  uncomfortably 
close.  A  week's  experience  in  Melville  Bay  produced  a 
wonderful  change  in  the  feeling  of  awe  with  which  a  berg 
was  regarded.  On  this  occasion,  the  Thetis  prudently  got 
out  of  the  way  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  ships  continued  their  journej'    ''ith  alternations  of  fair 


The  Departure  of  ilie  Relief  Squadron.         165 

and  bad  weather,  meeting  occasionally  with  field  ice,  until  the 
morning  of  May  22d,  when  tliey  arrived  at  the  edge  of  the 
harbor  ice  of  Godhavn.  Considerable  time  was  required  to 
moor  the  vessels  properly,  as  all  hands  lacked  practical  experi- 
ence with  ice-implements,  and  several  attempts  were  made 
before  the  process  was  successful.  Afterwards  during  the 
cruise,  when  practice  had  made  everybody  familiar  with  the 
tools,  ice-anchoring  was  seldom  an  operation  of  more  than 
three  minutes. 

The  ordinary  ice-anchor  was  a  large  iron  hook  bent 
nearly  at  a  right  angle,  with  a  point  to  be  inserted  in  a  hole 
in  the  ice.  At  first,  the  hole  for  the  fluke  of  the  anchor  v/as 
made  with  picks  and  cliisels,  but  later  ice-augers  were  tried 
and  found  to  be  a  decided  improvement.  These  augers, 
-^rhicli  had  been  furnished  by  the  Ordnance  Bureau  for  bor- 
lag  holes  for  torpedoes,  were  designed  by  Lieutenant  Brad- 
ley A.  Fiske,  of  the  Bureau,  and  were  contrived  with  con- 
siderable ingenuity,  after  experimenting  with  cakes  of  ice  in 
the  ice-house  at  the  Navy  Yard  at  Washington.  The  borer 
was  a  half  cylinder  of  steel,  four  inches  in  diameter  and  four 
feet  long,  witli  a  twisted  point,  and  the  instrument  was  pro- 
vided witli  additional  sections,  so  that  its  length  could  be  ad- 
justed at  four,  eight,  twelve,  or  sixteen  feet,  according  to  the 
thickness  of  the  ice  to  bo  bored  through.  Generally  two 
sections  wore  sufiicient.  Although  only  intended  to  be  used 
for  torpedoes,  the  augers  were  found  to  servo  equally  well 
for  ice-anchors. 

On  the  day  after  the  ships  arrived,  a  southerly  gale  packed 
the  harbor  so  full  of  ice  that  they  were  delayed  for  thirty-six 
hours.  During  this  enforced  delay  many  little  kindnesses  and 
courtesies  ^- zero  shown  to  the  ofiicers  and  men  by  the  authori- 


1(1 

' 

t  j 

i 

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i  I 


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I  I 

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i 


/, 


■I.  I 

i'i 


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ii 


it  I 


156 


The  BesGue  of  Greek/. 


ties  of  North  Greenland,  Mr.  Anderson,  the  Royal  Inspector, 
and  Mr.  Petersen,  the  Governor  and  Chief  Trader. 

As  the  dogs  had  been  without  a  proper  keeper  since  leav- 
ing St.  John's,  an  Eskimo  nanicd  David  Danielsen  was  en- 
gaged for  the  cruise  of  the  Tlidisy  and  a  contract  was 
signed  for  his  services  as  dog-driver.  David  had  served  in 
tlie  Proteus  on  her  voyage  of  the  year  before,  and  on  the 
retreat  had  been  assigned  to  Colwell's  boat,  which  made  the 
memorable  passage  alone  across  Melville  Bay,  and  along 
the  coast  from  Uperuivik  to  Disko.  In  spite  of  the  hard- 
ships and  fright  he  had  experienced  on  the  trip,  the  i-ecol- 
lection  of  his  good  fare  on  board  the  steamer  overcame  any 
lingering  impressions  of  the  retreat  from  the  wreck,  and  he 
was  glad  to  go  with  the  Thetis.  Here  he  made  the  mofct  of 
his  opportunities  after  his  ecanty  allowance  of  food  at  Disko, 
and  in  a  few  weeks  he  grew  to  aldermauic  proportions. 

On  the  24th,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  the  Thetis  and  Loch 
Garry  sailed  for  Upernivik.  At  the  North  Fiord  they  came 
up  to  a  solid  ice  barrier,  which  from  its  pressed-up  and  hum- 
mo(,;ky  appearance  was  recognized  as  the  polar  pack  of  the 
last  season.  The  Thetis  rauimed  her  way  in  for  fifty  yards, 
and  lay  there  during  the  night,  while  the  collier  remained  on 
the  edge.  Next  morning  a  gale  sprang  up  from  the  south- 
west, and  the  Loch  Garry  was  sent  back  to  Godhavn  to 
await  a  cliango  of  wind. 

The  Thetis  now  got  everything  in  readiness  to  enter  the 
ice-pack.  In  the  sudden  and  treacherous  movements  of  the 
ice,  there  is  little  opportunity  to  save  much,  if  preparation 
has  been  delayed  uutil  a  disaster  occurs,  and  there  is  never 
time  enough  to  make  a  selection  from  the  variety  of  stores 
in  a  Bhi])'s  hold,  so  as  to  take  those  which  contain  the  most 


I 


2%e  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadrmi.         157 

nourishment  in  the  least  space.  Careful  instructions  were 
tlierefore  given,  assigning  to  each  officer  and  man  his  indi- 
vidual duty,  in  case  a  nip  made  it  necessary  to  abandon  the 
si  lip,  and  everything  was  made  ready  for  lauding  on  the  ice. 
Knliber  knapsacks  were  packed  and  served  out  to  each  officer 
and  man,  containing  a  complete  shift  of  under-clothing  and 
foot-gear,  a  tablet  and  pencil  for  records  or  notes,  and  a  box 
of  rifle  or  sporting  ammunition.  The  daily  change  of  foot- 
gear, which  comprises  the  whole  of  an  Arctic  toilet  on  the 
ice,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  avoid  frost-bite,  the  wet 
gear  being  dried  under  the  clothing  of  the  wearer  on  the 
march. 

Sixty  days'  supplies  of  provisions,  consisting  of  pcmmican, 
beef,  pork,  tea,  sugar,  hard  biscuit,  salt,  and  pepper,  together 
with  stoves,  alcohol,  pots,  pans,  and  two  boxes  of  ammunition 
for  the  fowling-pieces  and  rifles,  were  stowed  on  deck  along- 
side the  boats  for  which  they  were  intended,  and  marked  ac- 
cordingly. Thereafter  the  provisions  were  regularly  inspected 
from  day  to  day  to  see  that  none  should  be  spoilt  when 
they  were  needed  for  use.  Packed  as  they  were  in  tin  cases, 
no  injury  was  feared  from  moisture  or  from  exposure  to  the 
elements,  and  deterioration  within  could  easily  be  discovered 
l)y  the  swelling  of  the  heads  of  the  cases.  In  making  these 
preparations  the  Arctic  experience  of  Sebree  and  ]\lelville 
was  found  invaluable. 

As  soon  as  everything  was  in  readiness,  the  Thetis  pushed 
on  into  the  pack.  It  was  here  that  the  crow's-nest  lirst  came 
into  frequent  and  important  use.  From  its  position  near  the 
masthead,  at  an  elevation  of  120  or  130  feet,  it  gives  a  broad 
lookout,  with  a  range  of  twelve  or  liftceu  miles  in  clear 
weather.     The  ice-fields  are  stretched  out  in  a  wide  pane- 


[■I 

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158 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


Mi 


n 


■in; 


rama,  and  every  lead  and  crack  is  marked  out  like  the  lines 
on  a  map,  when  nothing  can  be  seen  from  the  deck.  It  is 
the  only  place  from  which  the  movements  of  a  ship  can  be 
intelligently  directed  in  the  pack,  and  from  the  time  of  en- 
te**iiijr,  during  all  the  ice-work,  with  little  intermission  the 
Captain  has  his  station  here  except  while  he  is  asleep.  Ex- 
cept for  the  conf  "iPTa-,  and  the  increased  jar  from  the 
shock  of  ramming-  hicn  last,  however,  soon  wears  off — it 
is  a  comfortable  place  enoL;.:>',  and  no  captain  who  has  any 
concern  for  his  ship  would  occupy  any  other  while  she  is  in 
the  pack. 

In  all  the  Dundee  whalers,  to  which  class  the  Thetis  and 
Bear  of  course  belonged,  the  crow's-nest  is  a  heavy  barrel 
with  the  upper  head  knocked  out,  attached  to  the  foremast 
or  mainmast,  and  largo  enough  to  hold  a  man  standing  up- 
right. It  is  held  in  place  by  two  stout  iron  bands  fitted 
tightly  around  it,  and  secured  to  two  others  around  the  mast. 
The  bottom  is  arranged  as  a  round  trap-door  on  heavy  hinges, 
opening  upward  and  closing  down  on  a  heavy  supporting 
ledge.  A  seat  is  placed  on  the  after  side  of  the  barrel,  but 
there  is  not  much  chance  to  sit  down  while  the  vessel  is 
working  through  the  pack.  An  iron  rod  encircling  the  top 
gives  a  rest  for  the  telescope.  The  whole  structure  is  abaft 
the  mast,  and  a  rope  ladder  extends  up  to  it  from  the  deck. 

For  directing  the  movements  of  the  engine,  a  line  extends 
from  the  after  part  of  the  crow's-nest  to  the  bell-pull,  by 
which  the  usual  signals  arc  g.'ven.  For  communicating  witli 
the  helmsman  on  board  the  Thetis^  an  arrangement  was  used 
which  had  been  suggested  by  Ensign  Harlow.  Three  twine 
lines  were  run  from  the  crow's-nest  to  the  bridge,  each  hav- 
ing a  play  up  and  down  of  about  a  foot.     On  the  bottom  of 


The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadron.  159 

eacli  of  these  lines,  lead  cylinders  were  placed,  in  full  view  of 
the  quartermaster,  one  green,  one  red,  and  one  green  and 
red.  A  pull  on  the  green  meant  "  starboard,"  on  the  red, 
"  port,"  and  on  the  green  and  red,  "  steady."  Two  pulls 
meant  "  hard  starboard,"  or  "  hard  port,"  as  the  case  might 
be.  These  simple  little  contrivances  made  it  as  easy  to  direct 
the  ship  from  the  crow's-nest  as  from  the  bridge,  and  avoided 
all  calling  out  from  aloft. 

To  an  inexperienced  eye,  the  first  impression  from  the 
crow's-nest,  in  looking  over  the  pack,  apart  fronx  itf  <jxtent, 
is  the  solidity  and  apparent  impenetrability  of  the  i,e,  and 
the  first  question  that  presents  itself  is  how  these  qualities 
are  to  be  overcome.  At  first  nothing  caa  be  seei  that  gives 
a  remote  prospect  of  advance.  Gradually,  as  le  eye  becomes 
accustomed  to  the  work,  dark  spots  appear  under  the  glass, 
dotting  the  wide  expanse,  which  are  soon  learned  to  be  water- 
holes.  Presently  stringy  black  lines  come  out  here  and 
there,  suggesting  a  break  between  floes,  and  the  possibility 
of  working  through  them  to  a  point  beyond.  After  a  little 
while,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  the  ice  has  a  movement,  some- 
times slow,  sometimes  rapid  and  sudden,  which  may  be 
closely  connected  ^vitll  the  wind,  or  with  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
the  tide.  Where  the  tidal  movement  is  strong,  it  is  observed 
that  the  ice  has  a  tendency  to  follow  the  axis  of  greatest  mo- 
tion, and  that  both  tides  running  along  the  coast  draw  the 
ice  away  from  the  land.  Winds  from  the  southward  and 
westward  pack  the  ice,  those  from  the  northward  and  cast- 
ward  clear  it  out.  The  closest  watchfulness  must  be  given 
to  these  two  all-powerful  influences,  wind  and  tide,  and  it  is 
upon  this  watchfulness  tliat  the  ability  to  seize  opportunities 
for  advance  depends. 


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160 


The  Bescue  of  Grccly. 


There  are  also  distant  indications  which  have  a  peculiar 
importance.  These  are  the  "  water  blinks  "  and  the  "  ice 
blinks."  The  water  blink  consists  of  dark  clouds  or  spots  on 
the  horizon  and  is  formed  by  the  ascending  mists  which 
gather  in  clouds  and  hang  over  pools  of  water.  It  is  always 
the  herald  of  advance  and  is  eagerly  looked  for.  Tlit  lae 
blink,  on  the  contrary,  is  distinguished  by  spais  or  bands  of 
light  just  above  the  horizon,  caused  by  the  reflection  from 
the  pack  into  the  atmosphere  above  it.  It  always  indicates 
hard  work  and  anxiety  ahead,  and  is  accepted  as  a  warning, 
its  intensity  giving  some  idea  of  the  penetrability  or  impene- 
trability of  the  pack. 

"VVith  all  the  watchfulness  and  all  the  skill  in  the  world,  it 
would  be  futile  to  attempt  to  pass  through  the  real  ice-pack 
without  a  ship  built  for  ramming.  An  ordinary  sln'p  may 
cross  Melville  Bay  in  an  ordinary  season  late  in  July  or  early 
in  August,  and  may  pass  through  some  loose  streams  of  ice, 
but  she  can  not  pass  the  pack.  Even  with  the  Thetis  and 
the  Bear^  the  best  fitted  vessels  for  the  purpose  afloat,  there 
were  many  days  when  they  could  not  move  a  mile  in  any 
direction,  because  the  ice  was  too  dense  and  too  thick  to 
break.  Whenever  the  work  was  done,  it  was  done  by  con- 
stant ramming.  A  crack  would  open  for  a  little  way,  and 
the  ships  were  pushed  in.  "When  it  came  to  an  end,  the  ad- 
vance shii:),  whichever  it  might  be,  would  back  a  little  to 
gather  headway,  put  on  full  "ztcam,  and  strike  the  ice  fairly 
with  her  stem.  In  ice  of  ordinary  thickness,  if  she  got  a 
s(|uare  blow,  she  would  run  her  length,  perhaps  twice  her 
length,  and  often  would  open  a  crack  beyond,  which  repeated 
blows  would  widen  and  lengthen.  Sometimes  a  single  blow, 
fairly  delivered,  would  split  a  pan  of  ice  200  yards  across. 


\m 


t  I  1 


Tlie  Departure  of  tJie  Itelief  Squadron.  161 

If  the  lane  ended  in  a  point,  the  ramming  ship,  where  there 
was  room  enough,  would  charge  the  ice  on  the  side  and  crack 
off  a  large  segment,  repeating  the  process  again  and  again, 
rather  than  ram  directly  into  the  point,  where  there  was  a 
possibility  that  she  might  stick  fast.  If  the  ice  was  in  loose 
floes,  mere  pushing  would  often  dislodge  them,  and  open  the 
cracks  sufficiently  to  pass  through.  But  during  most  of  the 
time,  advance  was  only  made  by  incessant  ramming. 

After  completing  her  preparations,  tlo  Thetis  pushed  on 
into  the  pack  in  the  direction  of  Haroen  island,  but  found  it 
slow  and  difficult  work.  Large  pieces  of  the  floe  ice,  called 
"  pans"  by  the  whalers,  were  forced  aside  or  rammed,  the  blow 
giving  a  heavy  shock  to  every  one  on  board.  The  pack  grew 
hourly  denser,  and  each  blow  told  less  than  the  last,  until  the 
ship's  headway  was  entirely  overcome,  and  movement  almost 
impossible.  The  ship  was  still  three  or  four  miles  off  the 
land  and  all  leads  appeared  closed.  The  outlook  from  the 
crow's-nest  was  unpromising,  and  the  position  of  the  ship  was 
such  that  her  safety  seemed  to  depend  upon  reaching  the  Ice 
of  a  large  berg  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  northward. 

The  danger  of  the  position  was  due  to  the  tidal  currents 
of  Waigat  Strait,  which  gave  a  powerful  impetus  to  the 
movements  of  the  ice,  while  the  attempt  to  avoid  them  by 
seeking  water  to  the  westward  would  probably  have  resulted 
in  being  beset  in  the  middle  pack,  and  ultimately  drifting 
helplessly  back  through  Davis  Strait.  It  seemed,  therefore, 
most  important  to  gain  a  position  of  temporary  safety  under 
the  berg,  and  from  there  to  take  advantage  of  the  flr.^t 
chance  to  escape  to  a  point  under  the  land,  where  the  favor- 
ing winds  and  tides  would  probably  give  an  opportunity  to  ad- 
vance. 

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162 


The  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


The  wonderful  changes  of  the  ice,  so  often  mentioned  in 
accounts  of  Arctic  voyages,  enabled  the  Thetis  an  hour  later 
to  reach  the  iceberg,  to  whicli  she  was  secured,  and  where 
she  remained  during  that  night  in  comparative  safety  from 
the  grinding  floes.  The  berg  was  two  hundred  feet  high, 
several  hundred  feet  long  and  broad,  and  was  aground,  but 
only,  as  was  afterwards  discovered,  on  its  central  point. 

A  strong  current,  perhaps  two  knots,  was  running  at  the 
time  to  the  southward,  carrying  great  floes  past  the  berg,  or 
piling  them  up  upon  its  northern  side.  Against  these  it 
afforded  during  the  whole  night  a  secure  protection,  the  ship 
being  moored  with  ice-anchors  to  its  southern  side,  where 
there  was,  as  usual,  a  ledge  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  outside 
the  nearly  perpendicular  rise  of  the  central  mass.  About 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  however,  the  berg  without  a  mo- 
ment's warning  pivoted  on  its  centre  and  swung  round  with 
the  current,  exposing  the  ehip,  still  held  fast  by  the  anchor, 
to  the  running  floes.  No  time  was  lost  in  casting  off  the 
lines,  but  before  the  bow-line  could  be  slackened  the  stern 
of  the  Thetis  was  caught  in  the  current  and  swung  rapidly 
round,  and  her  bow  was  thrown  up  against  the  iceberg.  It 
was  an  ugly  situation  ;  but  fortunately  no  damage  was  done, 
except  by  carrying  away  a  small  part  of  the  head-gear  and 
mutilating  the  figure-head.  Poor  Thetis  lost  an  arm  and  part 
of  her  nose,  her  dress  was  considerably  torn  away,  her  body 
was  split  in  two,  and  altogether  she  came  away  from  the  ice- 
berg ill  a  dilapidated  state. 

After  casting  off  the  lines  the  ship  worked  to  the  south- 
east into  a  large  water  space,  where  she  was  forced  to  wait 
awhile,  and  where  Sebree  improved  the  opportunity  to  swing 
her  for  the  local  deviation  of  the  compass,  as  was  done  on 
several  other  occasions. 


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The  Departure  of  the  Relief  Squadron.  163 

Later  in  the  day  (the  26th)  changes  in  the  ice  made  it  p(.s- 
sible  to  work  in  further  toward  the  land  water,  though  heavy 
ramming  was  necessary  at  a  number  of  points.  Torpedotd 
were  used  with  a  view  to  reach  open  water  on  the  north  side 
of  Haroen  Island,  but  the  jam  was  too  formidable.  Holes 
were  bored  with  ice-augers  in  the  ice  ahead  of  the  ship,  and 
the  torpedoes  were  exploded,  but  they  did  not  produce  the 
effect  desired. 

In  general,  the  results  obtained  from  the  use  ol^orpedoeft 
were  rather  disappointing.  There  were  a  few,  a  very  few 
occasions,  when  they  produced  a  marked  effect  and  enabled 
the  ships  to  advance,  but  as  a  rule  no  absolute  reliance  coul4 
be  placed  on  them,  as  their  action  was  mainly  local.  This  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  when  it  is  remembered  that  although 
sea  ice  during  the  intense  cold  of  winter  in  the  Arctic  is  both 
hard  and  brittle,  it  loses  these  qualities  with  an  increase  of 
temperature,  and  acquires  great  toughness  and  elasticity.  It 
is  doubtful  if  the  Thetis  and  Bear  could  have  carried  flex- 
plosives  enough  to  have  blown  their  way  through  the  pack 
for  the  1,400  miles  they  were  engaged  in  their  ice  battle. 
During  nips,  however,  or  to  gain  temporary  advantages  in 
leads,  there  can  be  no  question  that  explosives  are  useful,  and 
they  should  form  a  part  of  the  outfit  of  every  expedition  fit* 
ted  for  Arctic  work  In  the  case  of  nips  they  were  used  to 
soften  the  ice  around  the  ships,  and  on  one  occasion  they 
relieved  l.ie  Thetis  materially  when  she  was  severely  pressed 
near  Horse  Head. 

The  explosives  carried  by  the  expedition  were  of  gun- 
cotton  and  gunpowder.  Both  were  contained  in  cylindrical 
tin  cases,  holding  about  five  pounds,  and  fitted  with  elecfcric 
fuses  and  connections.     Experiments  were  made  at  Disko  in 


i 


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164 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


\  t; 


I  , 


placing  tLeni  on  the  snrfcacc,  and  at  different  deptlis,  lialf  way 
tlirough  tlie  ice,  just  1^  4o\v  it,  and  six  feet  under  water,  and 
it  was  found  that  the  best  results  were  obtained  when  the 
torpedo  was  well  under  the  ice.  Gunpowder  was  found  to 
work  better  tliati  gun-cotton.  The  instantaneous  explosion 
of  gun-cotton  simply  blew  holes  without  shattering.  Gun- 
powder, being  a  slower  explosive,  acted  radially,  and  disrupted 
the  ice  about  the  water-cone  formed  in  the  upheaval. 

It  was  now  decided  to  attempt  to  gain  the  open  water  on 
the  west  side  of  the  island,  which  was  at  last  successfully  ac- 
comi)lished.  The  advantage  was  held  by  standing  north  and 
south  along  the  land.  At  this  point  the  Loch  Garry  rejoined 
the  Thetis.  About  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  28th 
the  Wolf  came  up,  a  sealing  steamer  from  St.  John's.  She 
was  now  on  a  whaling  voyage,  intending  to  follow  the  usual 
ront(?  of  the  Dundee  Heet.  Captain  Burnett,  who  commanded 
her,  came  on  board  the  Thetis  to  have  a  chat  and  a  look  at  the 
shi]).  The  Wolf  belonged  to  the  firm  from  which  the  Bear 
had  been  ])iirchased,  and  was  a  sister  ship  of  the  Bloodhound^ 
which  the  English  Government  had  taken  for  the  Nares  Ex- 
pedition, and  renamed  the  Discovery.  She  was  a  staunch 
ship,  and  her  Captain  a  fine  seaman,  who  was  intent  on  nuik 
ing  up,  by  a  good  catch  of  fish,  for  past  ill-luck.  His  ship 
was  the  iirst  of  the  whalers  that  the  Thetis  met,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  one  of  the  Dundee  ships,  she  held  out  longest 
in  the  race  across  Melville  Bay. 

The  Wolf  ran  up  to  look  at  tlie  ice  across  the  Waigat,  but 
found  it  too  stiff  to  attempt  until  the  tide  changed,  and  she 
returned  a  'Uiarter  of  a  milo  to  the  southward  to  wait.  In 
the  moantinie  n.nother  whalnr  c,^.u\ft  up,  tlio  Aruf/i/)^  of  Bun- 
deOj  commanded  by  Oaptiiiii  Guy.     Slio  was  a  oomjiaratively 


21ie  Departure  of  the  Relief  S<iuadrun.  1G5 

new  vessel,  built  to  replace  the  old  Arctic^  whose  name  was 
tlie  most  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Dundee  whale-fishery, 
and  she  was  the  vessel  which  Emory  had  mentioned  as  the 
"  most  dangerous  competitor  "  of  the  relief  squadron.  Her 
captain  was  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  service,  and  was  de- 
termined that  the  reputation  of  tlie  ship  should  lose  nothing 
while  she  was  under  his  command. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  four  vessels  took 
to  the  pack.  The  Arctic  and  Thetis  succeeded  in  gaining 
open  water  first,  followed  at  some  distance  by  the  Wolf  'Awd 
Loch  Garry.  The  masses  of  ice  were  in  motion,  forcing  the 
four  ships  into  as  many  different  routes.  Soon  after  entering 
the  pack,  it  was  noticed  that  the  Ij)ch  Garry  was  deficient  in 
the  turning  power  needed  in  ice  navigation,  and,  therefore, 
could  not  follow  quickly  enough  to  keep  always  in  the  track 
broken  by  the  Thetis.  The  Wolf  balked  her  considerably, 
although  unintentionally,  the  captain  of  the  whaler  striving 
with  all  his  power  to  aid  her.  By  the  middle  of  the  day, 
however,  the  land-water  in  the  vicinity  of  Noursoak  was 
reached,  and  a  number  of  natives  fishing  in  their  kayaks 
were  spoken.  From  them  it  was  learned  that  the  Bear  had 
been  detained  at  that  point  while  waiting  for  the  ice  movo- 
ment  northward. 

A  dense  fog  now  settled  over  everything,  followed  by  a 
blinding  snow-storm  in  the  afternoon  ;  a  sudden  fall  of  temper- 
ature coated  the  ship  and  rigging  with  rime.  The  land  could 
not  be  seen,  and  it  was  next  to  inij)0S8ible  to  discover  the  bo§t 
leads.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  war  nect-mry  to  aver- 
age courses  by  going  east  of  one  '^oo  und  west  of  another  dur- 
ing tlie  afternoon  and  night  of  tlie  2Sth.  After  a  most 
exciting  and  anxious  passage,  the  Thetie^  on  tJbu  morning 


,    I 


I 

'    I 

I'    I 


1  '■ 

1 

1'  ' 

i 
1 

( 


I'. 


|.  ■  ) 


166 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


of  the  29t]i,  arrived  safely  off  Upernivik.  The  strain  of 
twenty  consecutive  hours  in  the  crow's-nest  can  only  be  ap- 
preciated by  one  who  has  experienced  it. 

The  Bear  had  arrived  the  night  before  from  Brown 
Island,  about  eighteen  miles  north,  and  when  the  Thetis 
came  in,  she  was  found  at  anchor  with  the  Polynia,  Triune, 
and  Nora  Zeiiibla,  which  had  got  in  while  she  was  to  the 
northward.  The  Arctic  and  Tr<?Z/*  followed  closely  after  the 
Thetis,  and  these,  with  the  Aurora,  Coimwallis,  and  i^ar- 
whal,  which  had  not  put  in  at  Upernivik,  but  had  stopped 
at  Brown  Island,  made  up  the  eight  whaling  ships  with  which 
the  Thetis  and  the  Bear  were  now  to  contest  the  honors  of 
the  passage  of  Melville  Bay. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Thetis,  Emory  came  on  board 
to  report  his  experiences  and  to  get  the  mail  which  her  later 
departure  enabled  her  to  bring.  It  was  found  that  a  rumor 
had  readied  Upernivik  that  five  white  men  were  to  the 
north  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  York,  and  it  was  decided 
to  push  on  at  once.  The  collier  was  sent  alongside  the  Bear, 
to  nil  the  conl  bunkers  of  the  latter,  and  during  this  interval 
the  commanders  and  oilicers  of  the  relief  ships  called  upon 
Governor  Elborg,  who  showed  tlieni  the  same  kindness  whi(;h 
all  explorers  or  voyagers  in  this  region  have  received  at  hia 
hands.  He  gave  a  discouraging  report  of  the  ice  to  the 
northward,  but  stated  that  the  natives  had  reported  '  crack 
inside  the  iHlands  leading  as  far  as  Tassuisak,  which  might  bo 
utilized  if  a  native  ])ilot  could  be  secured.  On  being  asked 
to  name  one  whom  he  thought  eilicient,  ho  said  thai  a  man 
named  Ooloo,  living  at  Kingitok,  knew  most  of  the  coast  and 
Angers  to  the  northward.  If  ho  could  bo  obtained,  tho 
dbancoB  of  riiiicbing  Tafisuie»lc  at  an  early  day  would  be  good. 


i  ''i 

t  i" 


strain  of 
ly  be  ap- 

L  Brown 
B  Thetis 
Triune, 
18  to  the 
after  the 
ad  I^ar- 
[  stopped 
til  ■which 
onors  of 

on  board 
her  later 

a  rumor 
)  to  the 

decided 
lie  Bear, 

interval 
ed  upon 
;88  which 
id  at  hia 
u  to  the 
crack 
night  bo 
Hi"?  asked 
!   a  man 

oast  and 
nod,  tho 

be  good. 


^^ 


i|;iil 
."!-!' 


!"ir    '     '.M; 


||iiji|llj|lni:iilih!!l;::' :'r||l|i  iji' 

!i'Wliii::^iJi!ili,ii  ii 


iiililill^Slii'llllil'lliji' 
1|   '  'I  i 

iiilil  ! 

i  il! 


'Ill 


\ 


1, 


!i 


^ 


}  liii 


i 


I    if; 


kl\ 


TC'i 


n 


1 


111 


The  De2>'V'tiire  of  ihe  Relief  Squadron.  IbT 

It  V  as  agreed  that  Governor  Elborg  should  go  on  board  the 
Thetis  to  Eangitok,  to  secure  Ooloo's  services,  and  at  5  p.m. 
the  relief  ships  sailed  northward. 

At  Upernivik,  a  second  Eskimo,  Nicolai,  was  engaged  for 
the  Bear  as  interpreter,  as  Hans,  the  man  shipped  at  Disko 
as  dog-driver,  could  not  speak  English. 

As  the  ice  in  Melville  Bay  was  too  formidable  for  the  col- 
lier, she  was  directed  to  remain  at  Upernivik  and  await  the 
arrival  of  the^^^;'^,  which  would  convoy  her  across  to  Smith 
Sound.  She  was  also  directed  to  land  fifty  tons  of  coal  as  a 
base  of  supply  on  the  return,  and  during  her  delay  to  secure 
herself  against  dangers  from  the  ice. 

The  sailing  orders  of  the  Alert,  issued  before  the  departure 
of  the  Thetis,  directed  her  to  proceed  at  the  earliest  possible 
date  to  St.  John's,  thence  to  Godhavn  and  Upernivik, 
where  information  could  be  obtained  of  the  advance  vessels, 
and  so  on  to  Littleton  Island,  touching  at  Conical  Rock,  Cape 
Farry,  and  Cape  Alexander  to  examine  cairns. 

At  Littleton  Island,  if  the  Thetis  and  Bear  were  absent  to 
the  northward,  a  sledge  party  of  eight  persons,  with  provi- 
sions for  lifty  days,  was  to  be  sent  to  search  the  south  coast 
of  Kane  Basin,  an  far  as  the  Humboldt  Glacier.  ^  s  soon  as 
the  l)arty  had  got  off,  the  Alert  was  to  proceed  to  Foulke 
Fiord,  wliere  the  house  brought  from  New  York  was  to  be 
landed  and  i)ut  up.  h\  the  house  were  to  be  stored  all  the 
provisions  posnible,  leaving  'n  the  vessel  only  <  nough  to  sup- 
ply the  crew  on  the  voyage  back  to  New  Vork.  Forty  tons 
of  coal  were  to  bo  landed,  and  the  ntation  was  to  1)0  placed  in 
('liargo  of  an  oflu'cr  i\m\  two  men.  The  party  was  to  bo  eu])- 
plied  witli  guns  and  ammuuition,  and  a  steam  cutter  ftud 


%\ 


4h 


f> 


h 


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}\     r 

I-  I 

i   ■ 


/'I 


I  .1 


;1  .. 


H 


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!| 


i  ■  Ji 


H^MJ  1 

^ 

Hiii^ 

w 

11 

i'l'  p 


1C8 


T/w  HesGue  of  Greely. 


wliale-boat  were  to  be  left  with  them.  During  their  stay 
they  were  to  set  up  the  instruments  furnished  by  the  Signal 
Office,  and  take  the  observations  directed  in  its  programme. 

The  Alert  was  intended  to  remain  at  Foulke  Fiord  until 
September  10th.  If  nothing  was  heard  of  the  advance  ships 
by  that  time,  she  was  to  run  up  to  Littleton  Island  and  over 
to  Cape  Sabine  to  look  out  for  signals,  and  if  nothing  was 
observed,  to  return  to  Upernivik  or  Disko,  to  wait  for  tidings 
of  the  exj)edition.  If  no  news  came  by  September  25th,  the 
Alert  was  to  return  to  St.  John's. 

It  was  expected  that  the  collier  would  meet  the  Alert  at 
Foulke  Fiord,  and  Coffin  was  directed  to  take  the  remainder 
of  her  coal  cargo,  and  send  her  back  to  Newfoundland. 

The  inability  of  the  Loch  Garry  to  cross  Melville  Bay  led 
to  a  modification  of  this  programme.  The  Alert  left  New 
York  on  the  date  fixed,  May  10th  followed  by  the  same 
good  wishes  and  popular  demonstrations  that  had  been  given 
to  the  advance  ships.  As  she  got  under  way,  the  British  en- 
sign was  hoisted  at  the  fore,  and  was  kept  flying  as  she 
steamed  down  the  Iiarbor,  the  Navy  Yard  saluting  it  with 
twenty-one  gun.s.  Like  the  other  ships,  the  Alert  was  pro- 
vider] vA\]\  stores  for  two  years,  aud  carried  on  her  spar  deck 
the  firanes  aiid  lumber  for  the  two  houses  for  the  winter 
quarters  at  i  ■,  ulke  Fiord,  whore  it  was  intended  to  maintain 
a  depot  ui  on  v  liich  to  fall  back,  if  disaster  sliould  overtake 
the  advimco  slrip.A.  She  reached  St.  John's  on  the  22d,  and 
<TO(lhavn  on  Jur  e  .Vh.  At  this  point  slie  took  on  board  the 
twenty-five  Fskimo  dogs  ordered  by  Lieutenant  Garlington 
the  year  befo?'c,  and  engaged  n.  dog-drivor.  Although  it  had 
not  ])p.'ii  intondd  to  8up]>ly  the  Alert  with  dogs,  it  was  affor- 
warti;  deemed  wise  that  she  should  carry  them,  and  as  this 


The  Bqiariure  of  the  Belief  Squadron.  169 

team  liad  been  ordered  by  Garlington,  and  bad  been  collected 
at  Disko  on  the  strength  of  this  order,  instractions  for  Coffin 
to  take  them  had  been  left  when  the  Thetis  was  at  Disko. 
During  the  stay  in  port,  the  crew  were  practiced  in  the  use 
of  ice  tools  and  torpedoes,  and  exercised  in  "  abandoning 
ship,"  all  hands  landing  at  the  drill  upon  the  ice,  and  the 
boats  being  hauled  out  with  thirty  days'  provisions.  The 
ship  sailed  from  Godhavri  June  9th,  and  after  a  passage  of 
very  much  the  same  character  as  that  of  the  other  vessels, 
reiched  Upernivik  June  13th,  about  two  weeks  after  thd 
others. 

The  Loch  Garry  was  awaiting  her  arrival,  and  Coffin  re- 
ceived the  instructions  informing  him  that  she  was  left  be- 
hi!id  to  come  on  later  under  his  convoy,  the  ice  to  the  north- 
ward making  it  unsafe  to  venture  with  her  so  early.  Under 
these  orders  the  Ahrt  was  obliged  to  delay  her  departure 
until  the  condition  of  the  ice  in  Melville  Bay  was  favorable 
to  the  passage  of  the  collier.  The  time  was  occupied  in  coal- 
ing and  in  exercises  similar  to  those  })racticed  at  Disko.  The 
Akrfs  bunkers  were  lilled  and  a  quantity  of  coal  stowed  on 
deck,  so  that  if  accident  should  befall  the  Loch  Oarry^  the 
Alert  would  still  have  enough  to  make  a  depot  at  Foulke 
Fiord.  This  done,  the  two  vessels  waited  for  the  moving  of 
the  ice. 


:;-1 


!    ■' 
i 


I! 


I 


ii 


CHAPTER  X. 


u 


M 


I    H' 


ii  :i 


MELVILLE    BAT. 

At  five  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  May  29th,  the  Thetis 
and  tlie  Bear  left  their  anchorage  at  Upernivik,  and  started 
on  the  passage  of  Melville  Bay.  The  same  stretch  of  water 
had  been  crossed  by  the  Proteus^  with  Grecly  on  board,  in 

1881,  in  thirty-six  lionrs;  by  the  Neptu7ie^  with  Beebe,  in 

1882,  in  eiglity  hours;  and  by  the  Proteus  again,  with  Gar- 
lington,  in  1883,  in  seventy-two  hours.  All  these  passages 
had  been  made  at  least  a  month  later  in  the  season.  But 
Melville  Bay  in  June  is  a  very  different  place  from  Melville 
Bay  in  July  or  August ;  and  the  Thetis  and  Bear,  making 
every  effort,  seizing  every  opening  and  lead,  and  fighting  for 
every  inch  of  progress,  were  forced  to  consume  twenty  days 
in  reaching  Cape  York. 

After  leaving  Upernivik,  the  two  vessels  touched  at  one  or 
two  points  to  obtain  seal-meat  for  the  dogs,  and  arrived  a  lit- 
Ue  after  nine  o'clock  p.m.,  at  the  island  of  Kingitok,  formerly 
a  Danish  trading  post.  The  settlement  consisted  of  a  few 
Eskimo  huts,  with  an  abandoned  storehouse.  Here  the  relief 
fillips  took  up  a  berth  alongside  of  W\q  Arctic,  the  seven  other 
whalers  lying  on  the  seaward  side  of  the  island.  Governor 
Elborg  was  still  on  board  the  Thetis',  and  soon  after  the  ves- 
sel had  anchored,  he  sent  for  Ooloo,  the  native  pilot  whom  he 
Lad  hoped  to  secure  for  the  expedition.  Ooloo  was  an  Eski- 
mo of  low  stflture,  with  a  frank  and  intelligent  face.  Ho 
(170) 


:i  -i;  .11 


Melville  Bay. 


in 


was  tlie  head  man  of  tlie  settlement,  and  a  man  upon  whom 
tlie  Governor  placed  great  reliance.  Several  interviews  were 
held  with  him,  but  his  wife  had  just  died,  leaving  several 
small  children  for  him  to  look  after,  and  though  the  prospect 
of  plenty  of  food  and  a  warm  sleeping-berth  on  board  the 
T/idis  was  a  strong  temptation,  he  could  not  be  induced  to 
leave  his  family.  His  supply  of  English  words  was  limited, 
but  he  managed  to  convey  his  ideas  by  saying:  "Mi  go 
muchec, — hab  spleke  pagoniimies,  ketch  plenty  die.  Come 
more  time,  pagonninny  more  big,  Ooloo  can  go."  All  of 
which  meant  that  he  would  like  to  go,  and  had  spoken  to  his 
children,  but  they  thought  they  would  die  if  they  were  left 
alone  ;  but  when  the  ship  came  back,  his  children  would  be 
larger,  and  then  he  could  go.  While  he  would  have  been  of 
Bome  iT'e  in  working  through  this  dangerous  part  of  the  coast, 
it  seemed  rather  hard  to  repress  such  commendable  senti- 
ments, and  the  effort  was  finally  given  up. 

On  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  tlie  3()th,  Elborg  started  back 
in  his  whale-boat,  but  returned  in  a  little  while,  havhig  been 
unable  to  get  through  the  ice.  ITe  was  off  again  in  the  even- 
ing, however,  this  time  for  good,  and  carried  back  to  Uper- 
nivik  a  mail  from  the  ships,  which  everybody  sent  as  the  last 
message  for  homo  and  friends  before  an  indefinite  stay  in  the 
Arctic.  The  "last  message"  was  picked  up  at  Upcmivik 
by  the  ships  on  their  return,  no  opportunity  having  occuri-ed 
to  send  it  off  in  the  meantime. 

All  the  ships  were  detained  at  Kingitok  for  two  days. 
Parties  of  ofiicers  were  sent  repeatedly  to  the  hill-top  with 
glassei,  but  no  signs  were  visible  of  a  break  in  the  ice.  On 
Saturday,  the  dog  foams  were  exorcised  on  the  islaTid.  The 
whaling  captains  crossed  the  pool  of  open  water  in  their 


■n^i 


I  \ 


172 


The  Jifscne  of  Greely. 


i 


i'  V, 


M. 


I  ^1 


II  Ml  I 


%n 


Bteam  launches  and  visited  the  Rhips,  and  the  Bear  Rteamed 
about  the  harbor  to  ascertain  tlie  local  deviations  of  the 
compass. 

On  Snnday,  the  first  of  June,  a  squall  from  the  southwest 
broke  up  the  ice  in  the  harbor,  destroying  the  ice-foot,  and 
the  ships  ran  around  to  the  north  side  of  the  island  to  get  out 
of  the  "svay  of  the  running  pack.  Soon  after,  leads  were  dis- 
covered to  the  northward  and  westward,  and  all  the  ships 
cast  off  and  followed  them.  By  the  afteraoon  they  had 
reached  a  point  east  of  Berry  Island.  Ahead,  the  way  was 
blocked  by  impassable  ice,  and  the  ships  were  again  tied  up, 
three  of  the  whalers  being  to  the  eastward,  lying  close  under 
the  land. 

Soon  after  her  arrival,  the  Bear  discovered  a  lead  inshore, 
and  was  pushing  through  it,  leading  the  Thetis^  when  she 
ran  upon  a  rock.  The  rock  was  just  between  two  icebergs 
which  were  at  least  forty  feet  out  of  watcir,  and  at  the 
usual  ratio  of  one  to  seven  between  the  heights  of  the  exposed 
and  the  under-water  surfaces,  tlic  depth  at  this  p(jint  could 
not  be  less  than  280  feet,  or  47  fathoms.  Every  precaution 
had  been  taken  on  board  tlie  Bear — but  no  care  will  prevent  a 
vessel  from  striking  an  unknown  rock  fourteen  feet  under 
water,  where  all  the  indications  point  to  a  considerable  depth ; 
and  the  Thetis  was  not  without  mishaps  of  the  same  kind. 

The  islands  off  Tassuisak  were  reached  later  in  the  day, 
and  the  injury  to  the  Bear  was  examined  ])y  means  of  a 
water-telescope — a  contrivance  used  by  the  whalers,  made  of 
ordinary  stove-piping,  with  a  glass  titted  in  the  lower  end  to 
exclude  water.  It  was  pushed  a  foot  or  two  under  the 
w;iter  with  the  glass  end  down,  and  showed  exactly  the  na- 
ture and  extent  of  the  iniurv.     This  was  found  to  Ixj  Icse 


\.\\'\ 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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as  WIST  MAIN  ITRIIT 

WnSTIR.N  Y    145)0 

(716)  ■7a-4S03 


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I 


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W 


it 


Meloille  Bay. 


173 


serious  than  was  at  first  supposed.  Three  or  four  inches  of 
tlie  stcni-platc  were  broken  off  at  the  bottom,  two  keel-straps 
were  kncxjked  off,  and  a  piece  of  the  fore-foot  and  a  little  of 
the  sheathing  were  gone.  The  wood  ends  were  uninjured, 
however,  and  the  leak,  which  was  at  first  seven  inches  per 
hour,  wjis  very  soon  stopped. 

During  all  the  next  day,  everybody  remained  fast  in  the  ice. 
Four  of  t!ie  whalers  could  be  seen  to  the  east  near  the  land, 
and  four  to  the  west.  There  was  so  little  movement  in  the 
])ack  that  the  four  ships  lying  l)eset  to  seaward  did  not  even 
shift  their  l)caring8  during  the  day.  All  through  the  pack 
could  be  seen  numbere  of  icebergs,  of  all  shapes  and  sizes ; 
the  ice  was  studded  with  them.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
force  a  lead  by  ranmiing,  but  after  jiinking  a  little  progress 
the  ice  wjis  found  to  l)o  too  solid,  and  it  was  abandoned. 

On  the  bd,  some  natives  came  off  with  sledges  to  the 
Narwhal^  and  JSicolai  was  sent  to  get  information.  As  they 
reported  clear  water  to  the  northward,  the  Thetis  and  Bear 
cast  off  and  steamed  in  and  out  among  the  islands  and  ice- 
bergs, following  such  leads  as  they  could  find,  which  turned  and 
twisted  in  every  conceivable  direction.  At  one  time  the  llietia 
passed  so  close  to  a  berg  that  she  had  to  brace  her  yards  sharp 
up  to  get  by.  It  goes  without  saying  that  it  was  impossible 
to  tidce  anything  like  courses  here — or,  in  fact,  anywhere  else 
in  Melville  JJay  at  this  season.  When  the  ship  was  advanc- 
ing, her  progi*cs8  could  cnly  be  determined  by  taking  bear- 
ings of  an  iceberg,  and  estimating  its  distance  after  passing  a 
few  miles  beyond.  The  charts  were  of  little  help;  in  fact, 
])art  of  the  time  the  ships  wore  steaming  over  places  which 
the  chart  gave  as  land.  In  the  afternoon  a  well-marked  lead 
was  followed  for  some  distance  by  ramming,  but  it  ended  in 


! 


\\ 


ri 


I 


174 


The  Rescue  of  Grcely. 


a  bar,  and  the  attempt  to  pass  tlirongh  was  given  up  for 
the  time,  the  ships  again  making  fast  to  the  ice  near  Wedge 
Island.  Soon  after  anchoring,  tliree  natives  came  out  with 
sleds  from  Titliasook,  who  contradicted  the  reports  of  the 
morning  and  gave  the  discouraging  information  that  there 
was  no  open  water  to  the  north,  and  that  the  ice  extended 
beyond  Cape  Shackleton. 

During  Wednesday,  the  4th,  the  ships  were  visited  by 
numbers  of  natives  from  Tassuisak,  the  northernmost  of  the 
Danish  settlements,  a  little  village  lying  embayed  among  the 
islands.  Thesc^  Eskimo  are  the  most  northerly  of  the  native 
inhabitants  under  the  Danish  control,  and  like  those  seen 
farther  south,  were  of  medium  stature,  and  covered  with 
Bmokc  Boot,  grease,  and  other  dirt,  which  seemed  to  vary  only 
with  the  age  of  the  individual.  As  water  never  touches 
these  people  except  by  accident,  the  accumulation  of  dirt  on 
their  faces  was  a  fair  indication  of  their  age. 
•  The  Governor  of  Tassuisak,  Kleeman,  also  came  off  in  his 
dog-sled,  and  by  earnest  representations  of  the  danger  of  the 
exposed  position  in  which  the  ships  were  lying,  persuaded  the 
Commander  of  the  Expedition,  rather  against  his  judgment, 
to  put  into  the  harbor,  where  the  ships  were  anchored  to  the 
ice  off  the  governor's  house.  Within  three  hours  after  an- 
choring, the  lead  of  the  day  before  opened  for  several  miles. 
Casting  off  their  linos,  and  putting  on  full  steam,  they  made 
a  rush  to  get  through,  but  were  just  too  late.  The  Thctia 
was  ahead  and  ramming  her  best  at  a  i)lace  off  Horse  Head, 
where  the  lane  narrowed  down  to  a  point,  trying  to  crack  off 
n  pioce  (►f  ice  at  the  sif'e,  but  not  having  room  enough  to 
strike  fairly,  slie  glanced  off,  and  was  driven  into  the  sharp 
point  of  the  crack.  At  the  same  moment  the  ico  closed,  and 
she  was  held  fast  in  the  nil). 


Melville  Bay. 


■4  *.«» 


As  the  Beai'  was  cle«ir,  although  she  had  no  room  for  turn- 
iiiir,  liawsers  were  run  to  her  bow  from  the  stern  of  the 
Thetis^  and  both  vessels  reversed  their  engines  and  X)ut  on  a 
full  head  of  steam  ;  but  the  T/utis,  driven  into  the  crack, 
like  a  wedge  between  the  fibres  of  a  tree,  would  not  budge 
an  inch,  and  a  three-inch  steel  and  six-inch  manilla  hawser 
were  parted  in  the  attempt  to  haul  her  out.  Holes  were 
then  bored  in  the  ice  and  torpedoes  were  exploded  in  them, 
to  break  a  way  before  the  ship.  Five  gunpowder  torpedoes 
were  first  planted  in  the  line  of  the  lead  ahead,  about  fifteen 
feet  apart,  and  six  feet  from  the  surface,  the  holes  being 
bored  through  two  layers  of  ice,  in  all  eight  feet  thick.  Tho 
result  of  the  explosion  was  a  crack,  aiiJ  some  lateral  fracture, 
the  crack  reaching  to  the  open  water  beyond  ;  but  the  ship 
waa  not  eased  frotn  the  nip.  A  single  gunpowder  torpedo 
was  next  exploded  on  the  port  bow  without  results.  An 
hour  later  five  gun-cotton  and  six  gunpowder  torpedoes  were 
exploded  off  the  starboard  bow  and  beam.  The  result  wa8 
again  disappointing,  the  gun-cotton  making  circular  holes 
four  feet  in  diameter,  with  no  perceptible  shattering,  and  the 
gunpowder  making  smaller  holes  with  a  few  inconsiderable 
cracks.  The  only  substantial  effect  of  the  torpedoes  was  in 
softening  the  ice  at  the  side  of  the  ship,  which  thus  formed 
a  cuHJiion  and  relieved  her  from  the  heaviest  pressure  ;  but 
she  remained  fast  in  tho  grij)  of  the  pack,  and  no  force  could 
move  her.  Tho  Thetis  stood  the  strain  handsomely,  and 
while  the  nip  lasted,  it  crushed  up  the  ice  against  her  side, 
and  raised  her  bow  three  or  four  feet,  but  without  starting  a 
timber. 

On  the  next  moving  the  pack  slacked  off  a  little  and  tho 
Tliciis  was  released.    It  was  found  that  she  had  sustained  no 


\-\ 


i: 


176 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


\\ 


II 


*  \\ 


'I 
1 


injury.  After  she  had  extricated  herself,  she  succeeded,  by 
backing  and  ramming  under  full  speed,  in  making  her  way 
tJirough  the  obstruction  and  into  the  narrow  Etream  of  open 
water  beyond,  followed  by  the  Bear.  This  stream  continued 
to  the  northward,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  day  progress  was 
slow.  Icebergs  were  numerous,  the  leads  were  narrow  and 
required  frequent  ramming,  and  it  was  only  occasionally  that 
^arge  floes  could  be  forced  aside.  Every  mile  of  northing 
brought  the  ships  into  contact  with  heavier  and  more  for- 
midable pack.  Cape  Shackleton  was  passed  at  three  in  the 
afternoon,  and  at  six  the  two  ships  were  stopped  by  a  barrier 
about  five  miles  south  of  the  Duck  Islands,  where  they  were 
moored  to  the  floe.  Here  they  came  up  with  five  of  the 
whalers,  which  had  passed  them  during  the  nip  at  Horse 
Head.  A  sixth,  the  Polynia^  had  followed  through  the 
leads  astern  of  the  Bem\  up  to  the  moorings ;  and  the  re- 
maining two,  the  Triune  and  the  Nova  Zeinhla^  were  to  be 
seen  five  miles  to  the  southward  in  the  ofling. 

On  the  morning  of  the  Gth,  the  ships  made  an  advance  of 
two  miles,  and  coming  to  an  ice-bar,  butted  two  or  three 
lengths  into  the  floe,  and  made  a  dock  for  themselves.  The 
Duck  Islands  were  still  three  miles  away.  In  the  afternoon 
slight  changes  appeared  to  the  northward,  and  little  openings 
could  be  seen  here  and  there,  inviting  a  fresh  attack.  The 
bar  of  ice  lying  directly  in  front  of  the  ships  showed  no  signs 
of  weakening,  but  it  was  necessary  to  penetrate  it  before  they 
could  arrive  at  the  leads  beyond.  In  the  evening  an  opening 
occurred  just  ahead  of  the  ArGiic^  and  that  vessel  and  the 
Aurora^  the  must  active  of  the  wlialers,  charged  the  ice  with 
the  Thetis  and  the  Bear.  The  two  whalers  forced  their  way 
through  first,  and  worked  up  tlirough  the  cracks  beyond* 


Melville  Bay. 


177 


The  Bear  was  the  next  to  break  through,  and  found  a  whid- 
ing  lead,  just  wide  enough  for  her  to  squeeze  into  it.  The 
Thetla  followed  close  behind  her,  and  the  six  other  whalers 
came  after  in  her  w^ake,  using  the  openings  that  had  been  cut 
through  the  bar.  Later  the  Thetis  and  Bear  changed  places. 
It  was  about  nine  in  the  evening  when  the  movement  began, 
but  the  day  was  clear  and  line,  and  the  view  from  the  crow'e- 
iiest  extended  over  miles  of  glittering  ice.  The  eight  ships 
were  under  full  steam,  and  they  made  a  picturesque  and 
beautiful  eight  in  the  bright  sunlight  as  they  wound  their 
way  in  line  ahead,  through  tortuous  lanes  and  past  lofty  ice- 
bergs, each  one  with  her  bow  almost  over  the  talTrail  of  the 
next  ahead,  the  captains  hailing  each  other  from  the  crow's- 
nests,  and  the  ships  glancing  off  on  corners,  and  swinging 
round  into  the  leads  beyond.  A  little  before  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  long  lleet  had  reached  the  belt  of  open 
water  just  under  the  islands,  and  had  moored  to  the  ice-foot. 
The  Duck  Islands  are  regarded  as  the  outpost  for  advance 
throMgh  the  much-dreaded  waters  of  Melville  Bay.  Hero 
the  first  problem  to  be  solved  before  the  passage  can  Ikj 
undertaken  is  to  determine  the  land  ice  from  the  floe.  The 
line  of  land  ice  varies  with  each  month  of  the  short  Arctic 
summer,  breaking  off  further  and  further  in  as  the  season 
iidvances.  Usually,  the  first  break  determines  the  line  for 
about  a  month  after  it  occurs,  and,  if  the  pack  is  still  in  the 
bay,  a  ship  nmst  wait  for  this  break.  An  the  floes  detacU 
from  the  land  ice,  they  drift  off  under  the  influence  of  the 
wind  or  tide,  leaving  behind  them  the  narrow  lanes  which  are 
called  "leads."  Winds  from  the  north  or  tides  from  the 
north  are  always  favorable.  Winds  or  tides  from  the  south 
are  always  unfavorable  and  dangerous,  as  they  drl-vo  the 
12 


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178 


The  Uescue  of  Greely. 


r 


■  I 


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,1 

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1 

whole  mass  of  detaclxed  floe  back  against  the  land  ice,  and  the 
point  where  they  come  together  is  the  dreaded  nip.  Woe  to 
any  ship  caught  between  these  two  masses  I  As  the  line  of 
breakage,  however,  is  always  ragged  and  irregular,  any  move- 
ment of  the  floe  parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  land  ice  will  bring 
tlie  projections  of  one  opiX)site  those  of  the  other,  so  that 
when  the  masses  are  driven  together  again  the  edges  do  not 
fit.  A  ship  working  along  the  edge  of  the  land  ice  can 
almost  always  find  a  refuge  in  case  of  a  nip  in  the  natural 
docks  formed  by  these  open  spaces.  It  is  in  order  to  be  in 
the  best  position  for  advancing  through  the  lead  as  soon  as  it 
opens  that  it  is  so  important  to  detennine  land  from  floe  ice. 
Another  reason  for  its  importance  is  that  there  is  always 
danger  with  noi'therly  winds  and  the  low  tem]X}rature  which 
they  bring  with  them,  if  the  ship  is  lying  in  the  floe  ice,  that 
she  will  be  frozen  in,  in  which  case  she  is  likely  to  diift  off 
with  the  pack,  and  ultimately  to  drive  back  through  Davis 
Strait,  as  happened  to  McClintock  in  the  Fox  during  the 
imfavors'ble  season  of  1857.  If  the  ship  is  well  in  with  the 
land  ice  she  can  moor  to  it,  and  if  necessary  she  can  ram  or 
blow  out  a  dock  to  avoid  nips. 

The  next  four  day^?,  from  the  7th  to  the  11th,  were  days 
of  anxious  waiting  and  watching.  The  ships  could  not  move 
from  their  ancrhoragc.  The  weather  was  generally  fine, 
thougli  with  occasional  fogs  and  snow-storms.  When  it  was 
clear,  a  lookoat  was  sent  to  the  summit  of  the  hills  on  the 
islands  to  discover  any  possible  chance  of  advance.  Very 
little  comfort  was  derived  from  these  visits.  The  vast  sea  of 
ice  lay  unbroken  to  the  north  and  west.  Sometimes  it 
Bcomcd  as  if  it  would  never  break  up.  The  countless  ice- 
bergs lay  in  stately  and  silent  splendor,  with  here  and  there  a 


MelviUe  Bay. 


179 


sligliL  pool  of  water  about  them.  This  last  was  a  promising 
sign,  and  the  expedition  had  by  this  time  learned  that  the 
changes  M'ith  e'>ery  turn  of  a  kaleidoscope  are  not  more  com- 
plete or  surprising  than  those  which  follow  a  tidal  movement 
or  a  gale  in  the  ice. 

The  anchorage  of  the  relief  ships  during  the  four  days  of 
waiting  was  close  to  the  western  end  of  Middle  Duck  Island. 
All  the  whalers,  except  the  ArctiG  and  Aurora,  lay  on  the 
other  side  of  the  island.  Occasional  mc^vements  were  made 
by  one  or  the  other  of  them,  in  an  attempt  to  gain  some  little 
advantage,  but  none  of  the  attempts  came  to  anything.  The 
Wolf  a»vJ  Narwhal  steamed  off  five  or  six  miles  to  sea- 
ward, where  they  were  beset  in  the  ice,  and  for  the  next  two 
days  they  could  be  seen  at  intervals,  through  the  fog,  drift- 
ing helplessly  in  the  pack,  back  and  forth  to  the  southward 
and  westward.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  the 
Aurora  tried  her  luck  with  much  the  same  result,  at  first, 
and  at  midnight  she  could  just  be  descried  endeavoring  to 
fight  her  way  out  of  the  pack.  Her  captain,  Fairweather, 
was  a  shrewd  young  Scotchman,  wlio  never  lost  a  good 
chance,  but  who  never  ventiirtd  on  a  bad  one,  and  on  this 
occasion,  although  he  gained  nothing  at  the  beginning,  ho 
came  o  it  ahead  in  the  end,  for  he  was  found  the  next  day 
^orae  miles  to  the  northward.  Among  the  captains  who 
thought  it  wiser  to  remain  stationary  were  the  two  who  ve^ 
resented  the  extreme  types  of  boldness  and  prudence  in  the 
fleet.  Tiio^o  were  Guy,  of  the  Arvtic,  and  Walker,  of  the 
Polynia.  Guy  was  a  gallant  young  fellow,  ambitious  and 
daring  to  a  degree,  and  the  ship  he  commanded,  '\b  has  been 
already  said,  bore  a  name  which  had  always  been  the  most 
famous  among  the  Dundee  whalers.     He  was  determined  to 


I 


i 


h 


I. ) 


!« 


180 


The  Hescue  of  Greely. 


!*> 


keep  up  the  reputation  of  the  Arctic  on  this  cruise,  and  he 
had  in  view  both  the  rescue  and  the  summer's  catch.  Wal- 
ker, on  the  other  hand,  who  was  the  oldest  and  most  experi- 
enced of  the  captains,  a  thorough  seaman  and  a  capable  ice 
navigator,  as  well  as  a  man  of  wide  information  and  superior 
intelligence,  represented  the  element  of  conservatism.  His 
age  and  experience,  and  his  position  as  the  "  Dean,"  so  to 
speak,  of  the  lleet,  gave  Ids  opinion  great  weight  with  moot 
of  his  companions,  who  always  spoke  of  him  respectfully  as 
"  the  old  man,"  and  generally  followed  his  lead.  But  the 
qualities  which  are  perhaps  the  most  advantageous  for  ordi- 
nary cruising  after  whales,  are  not  those  which  will  eifect  a 
rescue  where  competition  is  keen,  and  speed  is  an  all-import- 
ant factor  in  the  result.  This  was  shown  in  the  subsequent 
movements  of  the  whalers,  by  which  they  became  separated 
into  two  parties,  and  the  greater  number  following  Walker 
were  thrown  out  of  the  race,  while  the  Arctic^  Aurora^  and 
Wolf  kept  it  up  nearly  to  Cape  York. 

Before  the  ships  left  the  Duck  Islands,  the  oSicers  of  the 
relief  expedition  had  an  opportunity  to  see  the  whaling  ves- 
isels  pretty  thoroughly,  and  to  learn  the  characteristics  of 
their  captains.  Fine  fellows  they  were,  these  ice-kings  of 
the  Dundee  fleet,  with  their  bronzed  faces  and  their  hearty 
laugh,  and  their  broad  Scotch  accent ;  frank  and  genial,  gen- 
erous in  their  rivalry,  always  ready  to  give  a  friendly  counsel 
or  a  helping  hand,  and  taking  a  keen  enjoyment  in  their  dif- 
ficult and  dangerous  work.  Their  equipment  was  generally 
inferior  to  that  of  the  relief  ships,  which  hnd  been  supplied 
with  everything  purchasable  that  it  was  supposed  they  could 
need.  Of  course  the  one  great  advantage  possessed  by  the 
whalers  was  in  their  experience.    It  is  a  question,  however, 


Melville  Bay. 


181 


i\\ 


whether  the  importance  of  this  quality  in  such  work  as  the 
expedition  had  on  hand  may  not  be  overestimated.  The 
purpose  of  the  voyage  was  to  make  a  dash  into  a  difficult 
region,  and  accomplish  the  rescue  of  the  missing  party  of  ex- 
plorers, and  the  first  consideration  was  to  get  north  at  tiio 
earliest  possible  moment.  In  carrying  out  such  a  duty,  it  is 
often  necessary  to  take  risks  which  could  not  be  justified 
under  other  conditions  of  service,  and  at  which  the  caution 
which  comes  from  experience  would  perhaps  hesitate.  More- 
over, a  man  who  is  always  on  the  watch,  and  upon  whom 
rests  the  responsibility  of  directing  the  movements  of  one  or 
two  ships,  gains  his  experience  in  these  regions  with  wonder- 
ful rapidity.  His  eye  soon  becomes  trained  to  the  signs  of 
coming  changes,  and  he  learns  to  think  and  to  act  with  a 
quickness  and  accuracy  that  often  surprise  himself.  The 
crow's-nest,  during  the  first  week  in  J  me  in  Melville  Bay,  is 
a  great  educator,  and  if  a  commander  s  I'loky  enough  not  to 
fall  a  victim  to  his  inexperience  du  that  week,  he  will 

find  himself  and  his  ship  pretty  well  in  li.  J  by  the  end  of  it. 
These  views  only  serve  to  bear  out  the  opinions  expressed 
by  one  of  our  most  distinguished  and  successful  Arctic 
explorers,  Lieutenant  Schwatka,  of  the  Army.  In  draw- 
ing up  suggestions  for  the  Greely  Relief  Board,  Lieutenant 
Schwatka  said :  "  I  think  it  proper,  in  closing,  to  warn  them 
(the  Board)  agaiixst  too  much  reliance  in  the  subject  of  expe- 
rience, as  applied  to  Arctic  afi'airs.  The  whole  history  of 
continued  Arctic  expeditions  under  one  commander,  will 
BhoAv  a  far  larger  list  of  retrogradations  than  advancement 
in  success;  noticeably  the  continued  expeditions  of  Franklin, 
Parry,  Barentz,  Hudson,  Hall,  Kane,  McClure,  Back,  and 
probably  a  score  of  others  who  had  served  previously  as  com- 


i 


182 


Tlce  Rescue  of  Greely. 


manders  or  in  subordinate  capacities :  and  all  "his  I  can  ao 
count  for  only  on  the  ground  of  a  too  rigid  application  of 
their  principles  of  experience." 


The  whalers,  as  has  been  already  stated,  begin  their  annual 
cruise  in  January,  or  early  in  February.  They  go  first  to 
St.  John's,  where  they  take  on  board  a  large  number  of  extra 
hands  for  the  sealing  cruise  off  the  coast  of  Labrador.  In 
these  trips  the  Thetis  often  carried  as  many  as  three  hundred 
men.  A  sealing  captain  supersedes  the  whaling  oaptain,  who 
remains  on  board,  but  generally  as  a  looker-on.  After  the 
vessel  arrives  at  the  fishing  ground,  the  extra  hands  are  em- 
ployed in  killing  seals  on  the  ice.  Immense  numbers  of 
seals  are  taken,  and  every  comer  of  the  ship  is  filled  with 
them.  Even  the  spar-deck  is  piled  up  with  them,  level  with 
the  gunwale,  so  that  the  crew  walk  over  them  when  on  deck. 
After  the  middle  of  April  the  catching  of  the  young  seals  is 
forbidden  by  law,  and  the  ships  return  to  St.  John's,  unload 
their  cargoes,  discharge  the  sealing  captain  and  crew,  and  pre- 
pare for  the  whaling  cruise  of  the  summer. 

The  whaling  captain  has  now  resumed  his  position,  and 
late  in  April  or  early  in  May,  according  to  the  season,  the 
ship  leaves  St.  John's  for  the  southwest  fishing  grounds,  off 
the  southern  coast  of  Greenland.  Here  it  is  a  great  advan- 
tage to  arrive  first  on  the  ground,  as  the  whales  are  timid, 
and  late  comers  are  apt  to  find  that  the  fish  have  been  scared 
away. 

After  three  weeks  in  this  latitude  the  whalers  steam  to 
the  northward,  to  Disko  and  Upernivik.  It  was  while  mak- 
ing this  passage  that  they  were  first  met  by  the  relief  ships. 
Heading  for  Cape  York  they  cross  Melville  Bay,  and  after 


Melville  Bay. 


183 


reaching  the  north  water  they  steer  to  the  westward  to  Lan- 
caster Sound,  where  their  west-side  fishing  usually  begins. 
If  the  Sound  is  open  it  is  followed  up  to  Prince  Regent's 
Inlet,  and  the  fishing  is  prosecuted  with  great  energy  during 
July  and  August.  In  September  the  whales  begin  to  mi- 
grate southward,  and  they  are  followed  along  the  west  coast 
as  far  as  Home  Bay.  ^y  this  time  the  faUing  temperature 
announces  the  approach  of  winter,  and  it  is  no  longer  safe  to 
remain  beyond  the  Arctic  circle.  The  whalers  then  seize 
the  first  opportunity  to  work  out  of  the  ice,  and  by  the  mid- 
dle of  October  they  have  returned  to  Dundee.  As  they  gen- 
erally cruise  in  company,  the  stronger  and  better  help  the 
weaker  by  breaking  the  way,  or,  if  necessary,  by  towing  them 
out  of  danger.  A  captain  who  would  abandon  another  in 
the  ice,  when  he  could  help  him,  would  peril  his  future  em- 
ployment, if  he  escaped  being  stoned  in  the  streets  of  Dun- 
dee. It  is  said  of  one  of  the  captains,  who  some  years  ago 
abandoned  a  consort  to  her  fate  in  the  ice,  that  as  he  came  in 
sight  of  the  home  port  he  preferred  drowning  himself  of!  the 
heads  rather  than  face  the  storm  of  indignation  that  would 
follow  the  disclosure. 

While  the  relief  ships  were  at  the  Duck  Islands,  the  officers 
were  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  a  "  Mollie."  Whenever 
the  whaling  fleet  is  stopped  for  a  number  of  days  in  the  ice, 
it  is  the  practice  for  the  captains  to  assemble  on  board  one  or 
the  other  of  the  ships  to  discuss  the  prospects  of  the  season's 
catch.  These  interviews  are  called  ''Mollies,'*  and  are  an- 
nounced by  a  bucket  hoisted  as  a  signal  at  the  fore-royal 
masthead.  The  meeting  is  decidedly  of  a  convivial  character, 
and  the  current  of  conversation  is  helped  on  by  frequent 
potations  of  hot  Scotch  whisky  and  beer ;  so  that,  generally 
speaking,  a  "  Mollie  "  means  making  a  night  of  it. 


184 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


%  -hi 


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K  .A 


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\     % 


During  the  enforced  delay  at  the  Duck  Islands,  the  time 
was  occupied  by  the  crews  of  the  relief  ships  in  visiting  the 
wlialers,  and  siiooting,  and  in  boat-sailing  and  fishing  in  a 
pool  of  water  on  the  seaward  side.  Lieutenants  Sebree  and 
Crosby,  the  navigating  officers  of  the  TJtetis  and  Bear,  took 
the  opportunity  to  make  a  survey  of  the  islands.  Instru- 
ments were  got  up,  stations  were  established,  a  base  line 
measured,  angles  were  taken  and  plotted,  and  the  local 
devia*:ioii  of  the  compass  was  determined.  The  result  of  the 
obocrvations  showed  the  islands  to  be  about  six  miles  out  of 
position  on  the  chart.  The  surveyors  were  anxious  to  do 
more,  but  the  open  water  to  the  southward  and  other  signs 
gave  hopes  of  a  possible  break  in  the  ice,  and  the  work  was 
BU<ldcnIy  brought  to  an  end. 

The  indications,  however,  j)roved  somewhat  delusive.  At 
C.45  on  the  morning  of  the  11th,  the  lines  were  cast  olf,  and 
the  ships  got  under  way,  but,  after  a  run  of  four  hours  in  a 
dense  fog,  it  was  found  that  the  leads  tended  towai'd  the 
land  ice,  and  a  short  distance  beyond  they  were  closed  up  by 
the  fresh  northwesterly  breeze  that  was  blowing  at  the  time. 
C^iptain  (luy  had,  as  usual,  been  the  first  to  take  advantage 
of  the  change,  and  bad  got  oil  with  the  Ardic  some  little 
time  before  the  relief  shijw.  The  three  whalers  which  had 
already  gone  out,  the  Wolf,  jyarw/ial,  and  Atuwa,  had 
extricated  themselves  during  the  night,  and  worked  uj)  to 
the  northward,  whither  the  Aratio  had  followed  them,  and 
all  four  were  together  at  an  Jior  three  or  four  miles  away,  when 
the  T/iHis  and  Bear  came  to  a  stoj).  The  latfcer  had  made  an 
advance  of  thirteen  miles  in  their  four  hours'  run.  Towards 
noon  the  weailuu'  (^leanul,  and  the  Pohjnia,  Triuney  Nova 
Zenibla,  and  CornwallU  came  up  tu  the  relief  BhipB  uud 
anchored  neai*  by. 


1j 


Melville  Bay. 


185 


The  ancliorage  of  the  77  is  and  Bear  was  on  the  edge  of 
an  ice-bar.  Beyond  the  bar  could  be  seen  a  fairly  prornit-ing 
crack  leading  in  the  direction  of  the  advance  whalers.  For 
a  long  time  the  bar  was  attacked  by  ramming,  witljout  suc- 
cess. By  tlie  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  ice  had  slackened, 
and  a  passjige  opening,  the  ships  went  through  it  easily,  and 
at  the  end  of  three  miles  stopped  at  the  edge  of  a  floe,  along- 
side of  the  Aurora  and  Narwhal.  The  ArctlG  was  not  far 
off  to  the  cast,  and  the  Wolf  two  miles  away  to  the  west. 
The  other  wlialers  had  not  moved  from  their  last  anchorage, 
which  was  now  three  miles  fistern  of  the  relief  ships. 

At  six  o'clock  the  ice  in  the  lead  where  the  four  ships 
were  lying  suddenly  gave  signs  of  closing,  and  there  was  a 
general  scattering,  the  Narwhal  moving  off  in  one  direction, 
and  the  Thitis  and  Bear  in  another,  bringing  up  finally  just 
astern  of  the  Arctic.  Captain  Fairweather  in  the  Aurora 
apparently  thought  that  he  had  seen  enough  of  the  pack  in 
this  neighborhood,  for  he  steamed  back  through  the  lead  as 
fast  as  possible  to  the  southward,  but  was  caught  before  ho 
could  get  through,  and  lay  jammed  all  night.  The  outlook 
was  indeed  most  unpromising  ;  ice  everywhere,  and  no  leads 
except  irregular  little  cracks,  which  were  constantly  opening 
and  as  cpiickly  closing  up  again  ;  and  the  islands  were  so  far 
off  that  there  was  no  fast  ice,  whi(!h  was  at  lejist  sometliing 
whose  position  and  stability  could  be  more  or  less  counted  on. 

This  appeared  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  winders  to  the 
southward,  for  the  next  morning,  June  I'ith,  they  all  put 
l)!ick  to  the  J3uck  Islands  and  anchored  secnirely  to  the  ice- 
foot, where  the  Aurora  had  preceded  them,  having  released 
lierself  from  the  jam.  The  Arcfio,  Wo(f^  and  Narwhal  still 
hold  their  ground,  the  former  in  hor  advanced  position,  hav- 


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186 


T/ie  liescue  of  Greely. 


ing  been  joined  in  the  last  movement  of  the  day  before  by 
the  Thetis  and  Bear.  There  was  nothing  now  to  bo  done 
but  to  keep  clear  of  nips.  The  wind  had  come  out  from  t!io 
southward,  and  nothing  short  of  a  northerly  gale  would  bring 
about  a  break-up. 

In  the  iuorning  the  crews  were  exercised  at  abandoning 
ship.  At  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  tide  turned,  loos- 
ening the  ice  a  little,  and  soon  after  three  all  the  ships,  ex- 
cept the  Narwhal^  got  under  way.  They  crept  along  through 
short  narrow  cracks  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  moving  very  gin- 
gerly and  feeling  their  way,  not  without  considerable  appre- 
hension, for  they  were  now  in  the  midst  of  the  pack,  directly 
in  the  bight  of  the  bay,  and  a  sudden  movement  of  the  ice 
in  any  direction  might  place  them  in  a  critical  position.  At 
4.45  the  Thetis^  Beai\  and  Arctio  made  fast  again,  the  ice 
resisting  all  attempts  to  force  a  lead.  The  Wolf  came  up  an 
hour  later,  but  the  Nai'whal  gave  up  the  attempt,  and 
Bteamod  back  to  join  the  others  to  the  southward. 

The  last  move  had  resulted  in  an  advance  of  one  mile.  It 
was  hardly  enough  to  be  a  source  of  much  encouragement, 
but  still  a  point  in  advance,  and  where  progress  could  only  be 
made  by  incessant  struggling,  inch  by  inch,  it  at  least  repre- 
sented something  for  the  day's  effort. 

Friday,  the  18th,  was  another  day  of  waiting.  As  the 
weather  was  good,  and  the  ice  solid  in  every  direction,  the 
crews  of  the  relief  sliips  were  allowed  to  amuse  themselves 
in  hunting  for  bctirs  and  seals.  The  hutnmocky  surface  of 
the  ice  was  favorable  to  the  sport,  but  the  men  did  not  get 
anything.  One  of  the  seamen  of  the  Tlidit*^  a  captain  of  the 
top,  named  Mitre,  who  had  been  separated  from  the  rest  of 
the  party,  was  sauntering  along  on  his  way  back,  when  a 


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IfehiUe  Bay. 


187 


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young  bear  picked  up  his  trail,  and  followed  him  to  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  ship,  Mitre  being  all  the  while  uncon- 
scious that  the  animal  was  behind  him.  The  people  on 
board  the  Aretio  watched  the  pair  for  a  time  with  much 
amusement,  and  when  Mitre  was  safely  over  a  crack  that  lay 
in  his  path,  they  chased  the  bear  across  the  ice  and  shot  him. 
After  this,  "  Mitre's  bear  hunt "  was  a  standing  joke  with  the 
crew,  and  he  was  chaffed  unmercifully  by  his  companions 
during  the  rest  of  the  cruise. 

During  most  of  this  day  none  of  the  four  ships  moved 
from  their  anchorage.  The  TFb^  was  some  little  distance  to 
the  southward,  but  the  Arciio  still  remained  with  the  relief 
sh  ips.  The  other  group  of  whalers  which  had  taken  to  the  Duck 
Islands,  had  now  made  off  to  what  they  thought  was  a  lead 
inshore,  and  they  could  be  seen  hull  down,  well  away  to  the 
southeast,  near  the  Sugar  Loaf,  a  snowy  peak  on  the  Green- 
land coast. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  Thetis  and  Bear  made  a  strug- 
gle to  advance,  the  broken  appearance  about  the  edges  of  the 
large  floes  giving  some  little  promise  of  success.  After  work- 
ing for  a  couple  of  hours,  they  had  made  only  two  miles. 
Though  the  pack  was  broken,  the  pieces  were  too  close  to 
push  through,  and  the  blue  flinty  ice  was  really  too  hard  to 
crack  by  butting.  The  squadron  was  now  in  advance  of  the 
whole  whaling  fleet. 

The  next  two  days  wore  red-letter  days  in  the  three  tedious 
weeks  passed  in  Melville  J3ay.  It  was  snowing  on  the  morning 
of  Saturday,  the  14th,  and  there  were  no  signs  of  any  immodinte 
change  in  the  situation.  The  Theth  and  Brn}\  now  two 
miles  ahead  of  the  Arctic  and  W(>lf\  were  drifting  slowly 
northward  with  the  pack.     Early  in  the  morning  the  Tlwtis 


\ 


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188 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


attacked  the  bar  in  front,  but  an  hour's  ramming  only  gained 
her  a  ship's  length  in  advance.  During  the  forenoon,  how- 
ever, both  ships  got  under  way,  and  by  hard  work  increased 
tlieir  lead  by  two  miles  more.  Ko  sooner  had  they  accom- 
plished this,  than  a  wide  lane  of  water  opened  out  to  the 
northward,  extending  apparently  several  miles  to  the  north- 
west. It  was  perhaps  two  or  three  miles  away,  and  between 
it  and  the  ships  lay  a  stretch  of  the  same  tough  ice  that  they 
had  just  passed  through  with  such  difficulty.  This  was  now 
attackerl,  but  it  took  more  than  two  hours  to  smash  through 
it.  As  luck  would  have  it,  the  entrance  to  the  lead  extended 
down  to  the  eastward  of  the  advance  position  occupied  by 
the  relief  ships,  and  in  the  movements  of  the  ice,  the  pack  to 
the  southward  had  slackened  sufficiently  to  give  the  Arctic 
and  Wolf  an  easy  passage  in.  Seeing  their  advantage,  the 
two  whalers  immediately  cast  off,  and  putting  on  all  steam, 
by  heading  first  to  the  southeast  and  then  to  the  north,  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  well  into  the  lead  before  the  Hietis  and 
Bear  had  worked  through  the  barrier  in  front,  it  was 
rather  annoying  to  the  relief  ships  to  find  that  all  their  strug- 
gles of  the  past  two  days,  and  their  advance  of  four  miles,  had 
only  resulted,  through  a  piece  of  sheer  bad  luck,  in  placing 
them  in  a  worse  position  than  that  which  they  had  left,  and 
that  the.  two  whalers,  which  had  not  come  up  with  them  during 
this  time,  were  now  steaming  by  at  full  speed  directly  ahead  of 
them,  and  rapidly  disappearing  to  the  northwest,  with  an  un- 
limited prospect  of  clear  water  before  them.  However,  by 
half-past  four  the  barrier  had  been  passed,  the  lead  entered, 
the  ships  had  been  headed  to  the  northwest,  and  were  doing 
their  best  in  the  clear  lane  before  them.  Once  fairlv  in  the 
open  water,  they  did  not  stop  until  they  had  made  good  thir- 


MelviUe  Bay. 


189 


ty-five  miles.  To  those  on  board,  who  up  to  this  point  had 
not  made  more  than  fifty  miles  in  an  incessant  struggle  of 
sixteen  days,  the  chan^^e  was  like  magic,  and  eight  knots  an 
hour  seemed  like  the  speed  of  a  lightning  express  train. 

It  was  soon  after  entering  this  lead  that  the  last  glimpse 
was  caught  of  the  whalers  inshore.  They  were  beset  near 
the  land,  and  tlie  CofnwalUs  had  the  appearance  of  being 
nipped.  They  had  made  a  fatal  mistake  in  going  back,  and 
they  were  now  thrown  completely  out  of  the  race. 

Occasional  obstinictions  were  met  in  passing  through  the 
lead  from  loose  streams  of  ice,  but  tiie  ships  kept  steadily  on, 
until  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  June  15th,  when 
they  came  to  a  tiglit  string  of  ice  that  barred  further  passage. 
The  Wolf  'MiA  Arctic  were  here  at  anchor,  so  that  the  latter 
had  after  all  gained  no  permanent  advantage  by  the  start 
they  had  got  the  day  before.  A  few  liours  later,  to  every- 
body's surprise,  the  A^irora  came  steaming  along,  and  joined 
the  others.  Captain  Fairweatlier,  with  his  usual  good  sense, 
had  not  gone  so  far  inshore  as  tlie  five  other  whalers,  and  lie 
was  thus  able  to  take  advantage  of  the  lead  and  catch  up. 
lie  had  left  his  companions  f ist  in  the  ice,  to  the  east  of  the 
Duck  Islands. 

At  the  point  wliere  the  five  ships  were  now  lying,  not  far 
from  the  northerly  Browne  Islands,  there  was  a  pool  of  water 
around  them  two  or  three  miles  wide.  To  the  north  there 
was  a  clear  view  of  the  great  glaciers  and  ice-covered  mou!i- 
tains  of  the  Greenland  shore  bomiding  Molville  Bay.  In- 
closing the  pool  was  the  broad  expanse  of  the  i>ack,  apparently 
solid,  witj  hundreds  of  icebergs  imbedded  in  it  on  all  sides. 
There  was  not  a  sound  to  break  the  stillness. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  soon  after  the  Aurora 


il 


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J 


190 


The  Besciie  of  Greely. 


had  tied  up  to  the  edge  of  the  barrier,  water-pools  and  strong 
black  lines  could  l)e  observed  in  the  northwest;  the  ice  began 
to  slacken,  and  all  the  ships  got  under  way.  It  was  not  long 
before  they  were  stopped  again.  The  ice  was  eight  feet 
thick,  and  prcst?cd  up  in  many  places  to  sixteen  or  twenty 
feet.  It  was  of  no  use  to  butt  into  it,  and  the  toi-pedocs 
produced  only  a  local  effect.  So  tlie  ships  once  more  cane 
to  anchor. 

Tlie  first  piece  of  good  luck  now  came  to  the  Wolf.  As 
the  ships  were  lying  moored  to  the  bar  in  front,  side  by  side, 
but  somewhat  spread  out,  a  crack  suddenly  opened  close  to 
the  Wolfs  moorings.  Casting  off  hastily,  she  had  no  sooner 
entered  it  than  it  closed  behind  her,  barring  the  way  to  '  e 
other  ships.  The  ir(?Z/' steamed  ahead,  and  by  this  httle  acci- 
dent obtained  a  start  of  si  x  miles.  In  an  hour  or  two,  ho  wever, 
the  wind  liad  gone  down,  and  the  pack  loosened,  and  after 
following  winding  leads  for  a  little  while,  all  the  ships  found 
themselves  in  a  wide  clear  lane  along  the  land  ice,  and  shot 
ahead  at  full  speed.  The  lane  was  struck  at  five  in  the 
afternoon.  At  seven,  the  Thetis^  finding  that  'ler  slowness 
was  keeping  back  the  Bear^  decided  to  let  the  latter  make  a 
trial  of  speed,  and  signalled  to  her  to  "go  on  ahead."  The 
Bear  then  passed  her,  and  gradually  closed  with  the  whalers, 
until  at  3  a.m.  of  the  16th  all  the  ships  were  stopped  by  the 
pack,  after  a  splendid  run  of  sixty  miles. 

The  gains  of  the  last  two  days  had  carried  the  relief  ex- 
pedition over  the  best  part  of  Melville  Bay.  The  point  it 
had  now  reached  was  fifty-eight  miles  from  Cape  York.  The 
ships  had  done  tlieir  beat,  and  it  was  clear  that  no  efforts  at 
any  time  would  have  availed  to  put  them  a  mile  further  on 
their  course.     Beyond  tbem  still  lay  the  jt>ack,  extending  ai> 


I 


Melville  Bay. 


191 


parcntly  for  sixty  miles  off  shore.  Small  streaks  could  he 
seen  to  the  south  and  west,  but  not  a  sign  of  water  to  the 
north.  The  five  ships  were  lying  in  a  pool,  a  mile  or  a  mile 
and  a  half  across,  which  was  constantly  changing  its  form 
and  size.  Across  this  the  wind  and  tide  were  driving  the 
ice  in  large  floes,  which  were  rapidly  nipping  and  opening. 
The  Thetis  was  unable  i )  ram  a  dock,  and  made  an  attempt 
to  cut  one  in  the  ice,  but  nothing  could  be  done  with  the 
saws  In  ice  of  such  thickness.  The  wind  was  blowing  fresh 
from  the  southeast,  making  the  position  of  the  ships  rather 
disagreeable,  as  it  was  necessary  to  keep  them  under  way  all 
night,  dodging  hither  and  thither,  to  avoid  the  running  floes 
and  bergs. 

Several  times  during  the  afternoon  of  the  ICth  tempting 
leads  would  open  for  a  short  time  to  the  southwest,  but  it 
would  have  been  bad  judgment,  under  the  circumstances,  to 
have  left  the  neighborhood  of  the  land  ice  to  attempt  haz- 
ardous openings  away  from  it.  The  TJietis  and  Bear  con- 
tinued to  keep  the  land  ice  close  aboard,  with  confidence  that 
the  surest  and  safest  opening  would  occur  along  its  edge. 
This  eventually  happened. 

The  Arctic,  however,  whose  captain,  Guy,  had  before  this 
made  no  mistake,  attempted  one  of  these  enticing  leads,  at 
about  seven  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  the  16th,  but  was 
caught  soon  after,  two  miles  away,  and  could  not  extricate 
herself.  Her  stern  was  thrown  up  several  feet,  and  she  was 
badly  squeezed.  After  this  she  did  not  join  again  during 
the  cruise.  The  Aurora  and  Wolf  barely  escaped  the  same 
nip,  the  ice  closing  before  they  could  get  into  the  lead  which 
they  had  started  to  enter. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  the  wind  moderated,  and  in 


i» 


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J   :        "fri 

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192 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


the  afternoon  it  fell  light.     The  dav  was  clear,  and  the  land 


i  i  I 


could  affain  be  Been  to  the  north 


During  the  day  the 


ice  remained  obstinately  firm,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  en- 
couragement inshore.  By  nine  o'clock,  however,  the  pack 
loosened,  and  the  four  ships  got  under  way  and  entered  it. 
Guy  was  now  out  of  the  race,  still  beset  in  the  pack,  which 
he  had  made  the  mistake  of  entering  the  day  before. 

From  nine  till  eleven  the  four  ships  were  working 
through  narrow  cracks,  charging  the  ice  from  time  to  time. 
The  Wolf  and  Aurora  were  ahead,  followed  closely  by  the 
Thetis  and  the  Bear.  Unfortunately,  when  about  half-way 
through  the  stretch  of  pack,  the  Thetis^  in  backing  to  clear  a 
false  lead,  fouled  the  pack  and  damaged  her  rudder.  This 
occasioned  a  slight  delay,  and  as  the  Bear  was  astern  of  the 
Thetis^  and  there  was  no  room  to  pass,  the  whalers  got  a 
good  start.  In  the  pack,  the  efiFect  of  any  stoppage  is  apt  to 
be  increased  by  changes  in  the  ice,  and,  on  this  occasion,  dur- 
ing the  delay  caused  by  the  accident,  the  lead  which  the 
whalers  had  taken,  closed  up,  and  the  Thetis  could  only  get 
through  by  breaking  the  ice  over  again.  The  Bear  had  just 
time  to  follow  when  the  ice  closed  a  second  time. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  relief  ships  worked  into  a  fairly 
clear  lead,  into  which  the  two  whalers  had  already  made  their 
way.  Here  they  put  on  full  steam.  They  were  approach- 
ing Cape  York,  and  there  was  a  water-blink  to  the  northward 
which  might  mean  clear  water,  and  consequently  a  straight/- 
away  course  and  a  trial  of  speed.  Every  one  felt  that  it 
would  never  ao  to  let  the  whalers  come  in  first  at  Cape  York. 
The  Cape  was  now  so  near  that  the  race  was  becoming  excit- 
ing, and  as  the  ships  pressed  on,  one  after  the  other,  through 
the  long  lane  of  water,  each  was  doing  her  best.    The  efforts 


Melville  Bay. 


193 


did  not  count  for  much,  however,  as  far  as  the  advance  ships 
were  concerned,  as  the  Bear  came  np  with  them  at  one 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  and  progress  was  stopped 
by  a  heavy  bar.  No  sooner  had  the  Bear  arrived  than  all 
the  ships  attacked  the  bar,  ramming  their  way  in  vigorously, 
wherever  each  one  saw  her  best  chance.  After  cracking  and 
pounding  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  pushing  aside  the  loose 
floes,  or  crashing  into  them  with  the  whole  power  of  the  en- 
gines, the  four  vessels,  at  half-past  two  in  the  morning,  had 
passed  the  last  obstruction,  and  slid  out  into  a  great  space  of 
open  water.  As  they  cleared  the  pack  and  steamed  off  one 
after  the  other,  the  crew  of  each  ship  gave  three  rousing 
cheers.  No  ice  could  be  seen  from  the  crow's-nest,  and 
everybody  thought  that  the  North  Water  was  reached  at  last. 

Whether  it  was  really  the  North  Water  is  a  question.  So 
much  ice  was  seen  during  the  rest  of  the  voyage  that  the 
water-space  about  Cape  York  was  afterwards  regarded  as 
nothing  more  than  a  break  in  the  pack.  However  that  may 
be,  it  was  a  break,  and  it  was  determined  to  use  it  for  all  it 
was  worth.  As  the  Thetis  was  hardly  up  to  the  mark  for 
racing  purposes,  orders  were  given  to  the  Bear  to  go  ahead, 
and  ahead  she  went  with  a  will.  The  whole  engineer  force 
was  stationed  in  the  fire-room,  and  the  engines  were  worked 
to  their  full  capacity.  The  Thetis  and  Wolf^  which  were 
abrefist,  were  soon  left  behind,  and  after  a  hard  tug  with  the 
Aurora,  the  leading  ship,  she  also  fell  astern ;  and  at  half- 
past  three  on  the  morning  of  Juiie  18th,  the  Bear  touched 
the  ice  four  miles  off  Cape  York,  the  Aurora  being  a  mile  to 
the  rear,  and  the  others  following  in  her  wake. 

From  the  crow's-nest  it  was  discovered  that  the  delusive 
sheet  of  water  through  which  the  ships  had  passed,  did  not 
13 


I 


•  r 


J' 


v  ) 


! 


■ir' :  f 


I  i 


,1       ^ 


194 


T7ie  Jiescue  of  Greely. 


extend  around  the  Cape,  but  that  the  pack  stretched  away 
for  miles  to  the  north  and  west.  The  three  sliips  in  tlie 
rear  brought  up  against  its  edge,  while  the  Bea/r  worked  in 
Bome  distance  further  through  the  cracks. 

As  Cape  York  was  now  within  striking  distance,  the  first 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  send  some  one  over  the  ice  to  com- 
municate with  the  Eskimo,  and  find  out  if  they  knew  anything 
of  the  missing  explorers.  The  Bear  therefore  pushed  on 
to  the  edge  of  the  land  ice  and  landed  the  party,  which  had 
been  already  told  off  for  the  work. 

The  landing  party  was  composed  of  Lieut.  Colwell,  of  the 
j&mr,  and  three  men,  one  of  whom  was  Nicolai,  the  Eskimo 
interpreter.  Colwell  was  lijturally  selected  for  the  duty, 
from  his  knowledge  of  the  locality  and  his  exixjrience  in  lx)at 
and  ice  journeys  of  the  year  before.  Everything  had  been 
got  ready  in  advance  for  the  landing,  and  at  4  a.m.  on  the 
18th,  Colwell  and  his  men  were  dropped  on  the  ice  with  a 
dog-sled  and  a  small  dory,  and  ten  days'  supplies.  The  ad- 
vantage of  this  combination  is  that  when  yon  are  on  the  ice 
you  put  the  dory  on  the  sled,  and  when  you  come  to  water 
you  put  the  sled  in  the  dory.  The  party  went  over  the  ice 
a  couple  of  miles,  and  then  launched  their  boat.  On  the 
edge  of  the  land  ice,  immediately  below  Cape  York,  they 
came  across  sled-tracks,  and  presently  they  fell  in  with  a  na- 
tive who  was  seal-fishing,  but  nothing  could  be  learned  about 
Greely  or  his  companions.  The  man  was  able  to  make  it 
clear  that  the  natives  about  Cape  York  had  not  heard  any- 
thing of  the  white  men  in  the  north  country.  It  was  use- 
less to  go  further,  and  Colwell  retraced  his  steps  towards  the 
ship. 

The  Aurora  and  Wolf^  the  only  whalers  that  were  still  in 


ii 


Btlll  in 


Melville  Bay. 


195 


the  race,  apparently  now  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would 
be  as  well  to  desist  from  the  effort  to  get  ahead  of  the  relief 
ships.  In  fact,  it  was  always  a  question  whether  the  Wolf 
had  ever  intended  going  north  or  trying  for  the  reward  at 
all,  her  captain  having  too  much  at  stake  in  the  summer's 
catch  of  fish. 

The  Aurora  had  made  no  secret  of  her  intentions,  but 
Fairweather,  her  captain,  now  announced  his  purpose  of 
making  for  the  fishing  ground  in  Lancaster  Sound,  having, 
as  he  thought,  reached  the  North  Water.  Accordingly,  he 
started  off  to  the  southward  and  westward,  followed  by  the 
iro Z/",  both  taking  the  open  v/ater  along  the  edge  of  the  pack. 
Before  they  got  out  of  sight  the  Arctic  was  seen  coming  up, 
and  she  joined  the  others  as  they  were  making  off  to  the 
southwest. 

As  there  might  be  a  chance  of  getting  through  that  way, 
the  Bear  was  ordered  to  steam  off  in  the  sa*ne  direction,  and 
if  she  found  open  water,  to  work  north  to  Conical  Rock, 
Saunders  Island,  Wolstenholme  Island,  and  Cape  Parry,  and 
thence  to  Littleton  Island,  stopping  at  Cary  Islands  on  the 
way.  The  Thetis  was  to  remain  to  pick  up  Colwell,  whose 
search  might  last  some  time,  and  to  take  her  chances  at  Cape 
York,  although  the  outlook  for  the  moment  was  most  un- 
promising. 

Just  before  the  whalers  left  the  Cape,  Captain  Fairweather 
came  on  board  the  Thetis  to  say  good-bye,  and  to  wish  her 
godspeed  before  he  started  for  Lancaster  Sound.  His  warm 
shake  of  the  hand  as  he  said  farewell,  in  his  rich  Scotch  ac- 
cent, will  never  be  forgotten.  "  Gude  bye.  Captain,"  he  said, 
"  we  may  live  without  fesh,  but  those  poor  fellows  up  there 
must  have  breed.  God  bless  you !  It's  na  use  for  us  to  go 
further." 


: 


¥  ' 


(  ' 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CAPE  YOKK  TO  LTTTLETOTT  TSLAXD. 

Quite  in  accordance  with  the  general  law  of  ice  movements 
that  the  unexpected  will  always  happen  :  before  the  Bear  had 
been  gone  an  hour,  the  pack  moved  bodily  off  from  Cape 
York,  leaving  a  lane  of  open  water  about  fifty  yards  wide. 
The  Thetis  lost  no  time  in  pushing  into  it.  It  brought  her 
along  the  edge  of  the  land  ice,  so  that  Colwell,  seeing  her 
approach,  after  he  had  made  perhaps  a  mile  on  his  way  back, 
waited  with  his  men  for  her  to  come  up.  Hardly  stopping, 
she  picked  up  the  party,  which  had  oidy  been  absent  three 
or  four  hours.  They  had  seen  only  one  man  ;  but  his  state- 
ments were  conclusive,  and  the  attempt  to  land  and  find 
other  natives  on  shore  would  have  involved  a  long  delay, 
perhaps  for  the  rest  of  the  day  ;  and  as  the  ice  had  so  unex- 
pectecMy  moved  off,  leaving  suddenly  the  opening  which 
every  one  had  been  hoping  and  longing  for,  it  would  have 
been  folly  to  stop  longer.  Tlie  Thetis  therefore  continued 
her  way  alone,  and  reached  Conical  Rock  with  only  occasional 
difficulty  at  a  little  before  four  in  the  afternoon. 

Conical  Rock  is  a  barren  island  half  a  mile  long,  with  a 
sugar-loaf  i)eak,  which  marks  out  clearly  the  turning-point 
from  I^rclville  Ray  into  the  triangular  expanse  of  water, 
which  for  want  of  a  better  name,  we  have  called  lower 
8mith  Sound.     The  llxeth  was  anchored  to  the  ice  on  the 

northern  side,  about  200  yards  from  the  island.     Soon  after 
(100) 


lovements 
Bear  had 
rom  Cape 
irds  wide. 
)ngbt  her 
eeing  lier 
way  back, 
stopping, 
jeiit  three 
;  his  Btate- 

and  find 
ng  delay, 

so  unex- 
ng  wliich 
)uld  have 
continued 
occasional 

ig,  witii  a 
ling-point 
of  water, 
li'd  lower 
w  on  the 
ioon  after 


I 


n| 


li!  .1 


\A 


Gajpe  York  to  Littleton  Island. 


197 


anchoring  Sebree  took  a  boat  and  landed  with  a  party  on  the 
western  side  of  the  island.  Here  he  built  the  first  cairn  of 
the  expedition.  It  was  placed  on  a  level  rock,  300  feet  up 
from  the  wa':9r.  The  records  for  Coffin  and  Emory  were 
placed  in  a  bottle,  which  was  sealed,  and  set  up  on  the  rock. 
Loose  stones  were  placed  around  it  until  a  pile  was  made 
about  five  feet  high,  and  a  flag-pole  with  a  piece  of  black 
muslin  was  set  up  on  top. 

While  Sebree  was  away  making  his  cairn,  the  officers  who 
were  disengaged  went  out  with  the  boats  after  birds,  and 
shot  three  or  four  dozen  auks  and  dovekies.  By  the  time 
that  the  party  had  returned  from  the  island,  the  outlook 
ahead  had  become  unfavorable.  The  pack  to  the  northward, 
which  the  Tlietis  had  now  come  up  with,  was  formidable, 
and  the  stiong  tides  made  its  movements  uncertain.  For 
twenty-three  hours  the  Thetis  was  compelled  to  wait, 
anchored  to  an  iceberg  or  to  the  floe  under  the  lee  of  Coni- 
cal Rock.  Once,  soon  after  midnight,  she  ran  up  a  mile  or 
BO,  but  the  ice  was  too  thick  and  heavy  for  passage. 

At  two  P.M.  on  the  19th,  the  southerly  wind  ceased,  while 
the  floes  were  partially  loosened  by  the  tide,  and  the  Thetif^ 
got  under  way  tor  Wolstenholme  Sound.  Capo  Dudley 
Dijijges  was  passed  by  ramming  through  the  pack.  Off 
Cape  Athol,  only  Ave  hundred  yards  of  ice  intervened  be- 
tween the  ship  and  the  open  water  of  Wolstenholme  Sound, 
but  it  took  some  time  and  hard  work  to  cross  the  barrier. 
At  this  time  torpedoes  were  found  of  real  and  unmistakable 
Bcrvice— at  one  pt)int  especially  where  the  llietis,,  ramming 
her  way  violently  into  a  narrowing  crack,  about  two  ships' 
lengths,  found  horsolf  stuck  fast  like  a  wedge.  Hero  sho 
wati  purfuutly  helplesd.    There  was  uo  pressure  from  the  ice, 


11  H 
(1 


'!< 


1^   I 

1/ 


',: 


i 


198 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Grcchj. 


li' 


but  it  was  firm  and  unyieldiiior,  and  the  ship  could  not  be 
moved.  Backing  was  tried,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  At 
such  a  time  all  liands  were  at  work,  on  the  ice  or  the  ship, 
wherever  they  could  be  of  any  use, — with  a  boat-hook,  if 
nothinj;;;  else.  Some  of  the  men  were  kept  at  work  pushing 
the  pieces  of  ice  that  had  become  loose  away  from  the  screw. 
But  the  really  effective  work  was  done  by  the  torpedoes. 
These  were  planted,  both  of  gun-cotton  and  of  gunpowder, 
ahead  of  the  ship,  and  on  each  side  abreast  of  the  foremast, 
a  little  abaft  the  bluff  of  the  bow,  where  the  ship  was  tight- 
est ;  and,  as  usual,  ten  or  twelve  yards  away  from  her  side. 
The  fractures  caused  by  the  explosion  eased  the  ship  from 
her  jam,  and  she  waii  able  to  push  ahead  once  more  through 
the  pack. 

Passing  on  through  narrow  leads  and  between  heavy  floes, 
the  Thetis  arrived  at  Wolstenholme  Island  a  little  after  mid- 
night. Tlere  Colwell  went  ashore,  and  left  a  record  in  a 
small  cairn,  which  he  built  on  a  slight  blufi',  just  above  a 
shallow  cove,  about  midway  on  the  western  side  of  the 
island.  The  cairn  was  marked  by  a  pole  with  a  white  flag. 
As  soon  as  the  jjarty  returned  on  board,  the  Thetis  started 
for  Spunders  Island,  where  she  arrived  at  2.25  a.m.  on 
Friday,  Juno  2.0th,  after  a  passage  of  an  hour  or  two  through 
rotten  ice.  She  anchored  to  the  ice,  about  two  miles  from 
the  point  where  the  relief  expedition  of  the  year  before  had 
landed  on  the  night  of  August  2d,  while  on  their  retreat 
from  the  wreck  of  the  Proteus^  at  the  moment  when  the 
Yantlc  arrived  at  Cary  Island  on  her  way  up. 

At  Saunders  Island  there  were  ))erhaps  fifty  Eskimo,  but 
they  h;id  no  information  to  give  about  Greely.  They  came 
off  with  their  sleds  to  the  ship,  where  they  were  well  ro- 


1  not  be 
ail.  At 
lie  ship, 
-liook,  it 
pusliin^ 
le  screw. 
)rpedoes. 
ipowder, 
bremast, 
as  tiglit- 
licr  side, 
hip  from 
through 

avy  floes, 

fter  mid- 

ord  in  a 

above  a 

of  the 

te  flag. 

started 

A.M.  on 

through 

es  from 

ore  had 

retreat 

hen  the 

imo,  but 
ey  came 
well  ro- 


w 


i  H 


.  ji 


IWi', 


ce 
an 
to 
th 
tVi 
ex 
t'dt 
U 

a] 
Dj 
an 
bl( 
an 
thi 
sej 
tw 
II. 
an 
or 
de 
lai 
tw 
an 
isl 
Es 
Cc 
ea 
an 
nn 
thi 
rei 


Hi 


CajpG   Yorh  to  Littleton  Islaih^. 


199 


ceived,  and  given  bread  and  pork,  as  well  as  broken  oais 
and  pieces  of  wood  to  mend  their  kayaks.  They  belongjed 
to  the  same  group  as  the  Cape  York  Eskimo,  and  living  as 
they  do  on  the  eastern  shore  of  lower  Smith  Sound,  their 
friendly  offices  may  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  parties  of 
explorers  who  have  lost  their  ship,  or  who  have  been  de- 
tached from  their  base  of  supplies  on  the  coast  of  Grinnell 
Land  or  North  Greenland. 

As  the  Thetis  could  not  approach  nearer  than  a  mile  and 
a  half  to  the  land,  Oolwell  was  again  sent  in.  This  time 
David  wont  with  him.  There  was  much  snow  on  the  island, 
and  above  it  patches  of  flowering  moss  could  be  seen  in 
bloom.  Colwell  found  the  settlement,  consisting  of  ten  tents 
and  a  hut.  The  natives  were  fat  and  dirty,  as  usual,  and 
they  had  plenty  of  dogs  and  provisions,  the  latter  chiefly 
seal-meat  and  birds.  Colwell  recognized  among  the  natives 
two  men  whom  he  had  seen  at  Cape  York  the  year  before, 
lie  also  found  here  the  dingy  which  he  had  left  at  the  Cape, 
and  which  the  Cape  York  men  had  brought  around  a  month 
or  two  earlier.  The  cairn  made  by  Garlington  had  been 
destroyed,  and  it  was  learned  that  at  the  time  that  the  latter 
landed,  there  were  three  people  on  the  island,  one  man  and 
two  women,  who  had  stolen  away  and  hidden  themselves 
among  the  rocks.  Garlington  had  seen  no  Eskimo  on  the 
island,  but  had  found,  as  ho  mentions  in  his  report,  "  an 
Eskimo  dog,  with  one  foot  tied  up  to  his  neck."  When 
Colwell  pointed  out  the  spot  to  David,  to  see  if  he  could  re- 
call the  visit  of  the  year  before,  the  Eskimo  nodded  his  head 
and  said.  "  Mo  savy,"  at  the  same  time  holding  up  his  bent 
arm  to  his  neck.  The  dog  at  Saunders  Island  was  the  otdy 
thing  about  tha  journey  which  he  gavo  any  sigu  of  having 
remembered. 


iillii 


■A 


.  ;;* 


1 


V 

ll 

( 

) 


200 


The  BesGue  of  Greely. 


Information  obtained  here  from  the  natives  who  visited 
the  ship  confirmed  the  l)e]i?f  thai  Greely  could  not  have 
worked  poiith  over  such  ice  as  had  been  met  so  early  in  the 
season.  In  fact  there  had  been  no  sledginj^  up  to  Etah,  the 
settlement  in  Foulke  Fiord.  An  old  man  with  a  wooden 
leg,  who  appeared  to  be  the  chief  of  the  party,  said  that 
earlier  in  the  season,  before  the  ice  had  broken,  a  hunting 
party  had  gone  over  the  ice,  well  on  towards  the  Caiy 
Islands,  but  that  no  signs  of  white  men  had  been  seen.  This 
made  it  clear  that  the  ship  must  push  on  at  once  to  the 
northward. 

These  Eskimo  pass  the  winter  at  North  Star  Bay,  where 
they  live  in  their  huts  built  of  stone  and  turf;  during  the 
spring  and  summer  they  shift  over  to  Saunders  Island,  where 
they  live  in  skin  tents,  and  occupy  themselves  in  hunting 
and  fishing  for  their  winter  supply.  The  island  is  a  favorite 
haunt  of  walrus,  seal,  and  duck.  It  wa:^  here  that  the  first 
large  walrus  were  seen  by  the  expedition.  During  favor- 
able seasons  the  natives  work  as  far  north  as  Lifeboat  Covo, 
and  south  as  far  as  Cape  York.  The  usual  mode  of  travel 
is  by  dog  sleds  along  the  ice-foot  whiah  everywhere  skirts 
the  land.  Wherever  a  landing  was  made  on  the  west  coast 
of  Gi-eenland,  beyond  Cape  York,  tracks  of  sleds  and  human 
footprints  were  seen  on  the  snow.  North  of  Saunders  Isl- 
and there  are  two  Eskimo  settlements,  one  on  Northumber- 
land Island,  and  the  other  in  Foulke  Fiord,  at  the  village  of 
Etah.  The  number  of  the  inhabitants  has  been  growing 
steadily  smaller  year  by  year,  and  they  are  now  a  mere 
handful  of  people.  Tiie  Saunders  Island  natives  said  that 
there  were  only  four  families  at  Etah.  The  two  northern 
Bettlenients  seem  to  bo  closely  connected  with  each  other, 


Gaj^e  York  to  Littleton  Island. 


201 


LICl  y 


and  interchange  visits  in  much  the  same  way  as  those  at 
North  Star  Buy  and  Cape  York.  None  of  the  people  in  the 
four  settlements  ever  go  south  of  the  latter  point,  between 
which  and  Tassuisak  the  coa«t  is  one  vast  impassable  glacier. 
There  was  a  marked  difference  in  appearance  between  the 
natives  in  the  two  regions ;  those  to  the  north  were  iine 
physical  specimens,  and  in  their  bear-skin  suits  appeared- 
hardy  and  robust.  Their  good  nature  and  laughing  faces 
contrasted  strongly  with  the  surly  expression  and  manner  of 
those  about  the  Danish  settlements. 

Although  with  an  Eskimo  food  is  usually  the  principal 
subject  of  concern,  the  Saunders  Island  natives  seemed  quite 
as  anxious  to  procure  broken  oars,  or  nails,  or  pieces  of 
metal.  Whenever  they  came  on  board,  however,  it  was 
noticed  that  they  generally  found  the  g^iUey  the  most  attract- 
ive part  of  the  ship,  and  they  were  constantly  hanging  about 
it.  Nothing  in  the  shape  of  food  seemed  to  go  amiss  with 
them  ;  and  it  made  little  difference  whether  grease,  or  bone, 
or  bird -skins,  or  vegetable  parings  were  handed  out, — they 
were  always  ready  to  eat  anything,  dirty  or  clean,  hot  or 
cold,  cooked  or  uncooked. 

As  soon  as  Colwell  returned,  the  Thetis^  at  4.40  a.m., 
loft  Saunders  Island  for  Cape  Parry.  The  ice  presented 
some  difficulty,  although  after  a  great  deal  of  winding  about, 
the  ship  succeeded  in  making  one  or  two  good  runs.  The 
floes  were  loose,  but  the  ice  was  piled  up  in  large  masses, 
and  there  wore  places  where  the  heavier  hummocks  would 
only  just  clear  tlie  boats  hanging  at  the  davits,  and  occasion- 
ally the  propeller  striking  a  heavy  lump  would  get  a  severe 
shock.  The  bumping  never  injured  the  screw,  though  it 
brought  the  ship  up  once  or  twice.    On  one  occasion  it  car- 


;!  * 


1* 
It 

i 


■^ 


ti ' 


(1   1 1 


,1i 

i>2 


I, 


i;^:?' 


1 


202 


J77i^  Mes<Me  of  Greely. 


ried  away  the  block  holding  up  the  reversing-gear  of  the 
engine,  but  as  usual,  Melville's  resource  prevented  any  de- 
tention, and  the  block  was  held  firmly  in  place  by  means  of 
a  hydraulic  pump,  until  secure  straps  could  be  made. 

During  this  day's  passage,  large  numbers  of  walrus  were 
Been  basking  on  the  larger  floe-pieces,  and  dropping  lazily 
off  into  the  water  before  the  ship  got  within  easy  gunshot. 
Thousands  of  screaming  little  auks  were  found  in  the  wide 
spaces  of  open  water  between  the  floes,  but  they  were  so 
small  as  hardly  to  make  it  worth  while  to  waste  ammuni- 
tion on  any  but  the  larger  flocks,  and  the  sportsmen  did  not 
feel  repaid  unless  each  shot  brought  down  two  or  three 
score  of  them.  The  beautiful  ivory  gulls  too  were  seen, 
though  they  were  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  white 
snow  lying  over  the  ice.  As  they  were  useless  for  food,  and 
were  only  prized  as  curiosities,  none  of  them  were  killed. 

Ai">proaching  Cape  Parry  in  the  forenoon  the  ice  was 
found  packed  a  long  distance  from  the  shore,  and  there  was 
some  doubt  v.'hether  the  Thetis  could  withou.  a  groat  deal 
of  trouble  work  in  near  enough  to  send  a  party  ashore 
with  the  record  referred  to  in  the  instructions  given  to  Cof- 
fin and  Emory.  It  would  have  been  easier  to  pass  on  to 
Northumberland  and  Hakluyt  Islands,  and  leave  a  record 
there.  The  whole  history  of  expeditions  in  this  region,  how- 
ever, shows  that  it  is  a  cai'dinal  principle  of  Arctic  exploration 
that  when  two  parties  are  working  in  concert,  and  commu- 
nicating by  records  left  at  prearranged  points,  they  should 
carry  out  to  the  letter  the  terms  of  their  agreement,  and 
nothing  short  of  an  insurmountable  obstacle  should  ever 
stand  in  the  way  of  making  the  records  at  the  designated 
points.  Failure  to  do  this  is  certain  to  throw  the  other 
party  into  confusion. 


Cape  York  to  LitUeion  Island. 


203 


As  Cape  Parry  was  one  of  the  pre-arranged  points  at 
wliicli  a  record  was  to  be  left,  and  as  notices  left  at  Conical 
Rock  and  at  Wolstenholtne  Island  had  reiterated  it  as  one 
of  the  points  en  rouie^  it  was  out  of  the  question  to  pass  on 
without  effecting  a  landing,  even  though  delay  might  there- 
by be  occasioned.  A  lead  was  t: orefore  followed  to  the 
o])en  water  to  the  westward,  from  whicli  place  an  hour  or 
two  later  it  opened  up  to  Cape  Parry. 

The  Thetis  arrived  at  Cape  Parry  at  1.30  p.m.,  and  anch- 
ored within  200  yards  of  the  land.  The  Eskimo  sled  tracks 
were  again  visible  on  the  ice-foot.  Lieutenant  Lemly  land- 
ed at  the  Cape,  built  a  cairn,  and  left  a  record  for  the  other 
vessels.  The  cairn  was  placed  on  a  knoll,  on  the  western 
point  of  the  Cape,  and  marked  by  a  white  flag.  The  Thetis 
was  under  way  again  at  2.25  p.m.  Soon  after  leaving  the 
Cape  she  struck  a  sunken  rock,  not  marked  on  the  chart, 
but  as  she  was  going  at  a  speed  of  only  two  knots  at  the 
time,  she  sustained  no  injury.  Standing  across  Whale 
Sound,  through  loose  broken  floe  ice,  the  Thetis  passed 
aroun<l  and  between  Northumberland  and  Hakluyt  Islands, 
running  closely  in  and  examining  them  carefully,  and  con- 
tinued on  her  way  north  at  9  p.m.  Fiom  Northumberland 
loland  to  Cape  Alexander,  the  way  lay  through  twenty-four 
miles  of  enormous  bergs,  thickly  studded  together,  often  so 
close  to  each  other  that  an  opening  could  hardly  be  discov- 
ered until  the  ship  was  right  upon  them.  During  the  night 
the  wind  came  up  fresh  from  the  southward  with  flurries  of 
snow.  Later  it  increased  to  a  gale,  which  continued  with 
slight  intervals  during  the  next  two  days,  the  wind  at  times 
blowing  with  great  fury.  The  direction  of  the  wind  was 
favorable,  however,  and  good  progress  was  made.    About 


1^ 


I       ! 


!■■ 


if 


I 


11 


204 


T/ie  Bescue  of  Greely. 


twenty  miles  north  of  Nortliumberland  Island,  the  ship  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  into  the  long  sought-tbr  North  Water. 
This  time  there  was  no  mistake  about  it.  From  this  pi)int 
there  was  but  little  ice ;  in  fact,  there  was,  to  all  intents,  open 
sea  as  far  as  Littleton  Island,  and  for  the  first  time  since  en- 
tering the  ice,  seven  hundred  miles  to  the  southward,  the 
ship  rose  slightly  to  the  motion  of  the  swell. 

Cape  Robertson  was  swept  witli  the  telescope  during  the 
clear  intervals  in  ])assing,  but  there  were  no  signs  of  life  to 
be  observed  there,  nor  on  any  of  the  land  intervening  be- 
tv/een  it  and  Littleton  Island.  Passing  the  points  and  in- 
lets with  their  well-knowm  names.  Cape  Saumarez,  Cape  Al- 
exander, Hartstene  Bay,  Pandora  Harbor,  and  Port  Foulke, 
the  Thetis  at  2.30  a.m.  of  June  21st  was  abreast  of  Little- 
ton Island.  All  hands  were  watching  eagerly  for  signs  of 
the  missing  explorers;  but  there  was  no  trace  of  human  life 
about  the  island,  and  the  coal-pile  was  apparently  undis- 
turbed. As  the  Thetis  passed  up  the  west  side,  McGary 
Island  gradually  opened  out,  a  rocky  islet  half  a  mile  long 
lying  off  the  northern  side  of  Littleton  Island,  and  sepa- 
rated from  it  by  a  passage  one  hundred  ^<irds  wide.  Nor- 
man, the  ice-pilot,  said  that  he  had  been  through  this  pas- 
sage, and  the  Thetis  accordingly  attemjjted  it.  Starting  at 
low  speed,  she  had  not  gone  far  before  she  struck  a  ledge, 
on  which  she  hung  for  fifteen  anxious  minutes.  After  a  lit- 
tle thumping,  she  was  worked  off'  with  the  help  of  the  engine 
and  head-sail,  aided  somewhat  by  the  ebb  tide.  Fortunately 
Bhe  was  not  injured,  and  she  steamed  around,  this  time  out- 
side of  McGary  Island,  to  the  north  side  of  Littleton  Island, 
where  she  was  protected  from  the  southwesterly  gale.  Here 
she  made  fast  to  a  small  grounded  berg  off  the  shore. 


Caj^e  Yoi'h  to  Littleton  Idmid. 


205 


Parties  were  ininiecliately  landed,  the  Captain,  Colwell, 
Melville,  Norman,  and  otiiers  going  ashore.  Every  part  of 
the  island  where  it  was  thought  a  eairn  or  a  record  could 
possibly  be,  was  examined.  Beebe's  cache  made  in  1883 
could  not  be  found  at  tirst,  even  with  the  help  of  Norman, 
who  had  been  witli  Beebe,  as  mate  of  the  Neptune^  when 
the  caclie  was  made.  A  stray  sock  was  discovered  on  the 
northwestern  end  of  the  island,  and  a  bundle  of  newspapers. 
More  men  came  over  and  tlie  search  continued  actively. 
Finally,  one  of  the  men,  prodding  the  snow  in  a  gully  with 
a  boat-hook,  struck  a  barrel.  liemoving  the  snow,  which 
was  three  feet  deep,  the  cache  was  found  intact,  and  the 
cans  showed  no  signs  of  spoiling.  The  business-like  address 
on  the  boxes,  "  Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely,  Fort  Conger, 
Grinnell  Land,  via  St.  John's  and  Greenland,"  had  about  it 
an  air  of  grotesqueness  that  seemed  almost  like  a  mockery. 

The  cairns  were  found  without  ditHeulty.  Tliat  of  Nares 
was  on  the  southwestern  summit.  Commander  Wildes' 
cairn  of  the  year  before  was  found  on  the  southwest  point 
near  the  c^al-pile,  with  the  broken  oar  planted  in  it,  and  a 
letter  from  Commander  Wildes  to  Garlington  in  a  bottle, 
all  just  as  it  had  been  left.  It  was  evident  that  Greely  had 
not  reached  the  island. 

The  greater  part  of  the  day  was  consumed  in  making  the 
search  of  the  island.  During  the  morning  the  gale  increased 
so  much  that  landing  on  or  leaving  the  high  ice-foot  of  the 
island  was  dangerous  and  difficult.  The  wind  brought  with 
it  a  blinding  snow-storm.  It  was  late  in  the  evening  before  all 
hands  were  brought  safely  on  board,  worn  out  with  the  work  of 
the  day.  No  landing  had  been  made  at  Lifeboat  Cove  as 
yet,  but  if  the  explorers  had  been  there,  a  record  would  cer- 


:''; 


illi 


t 


lift 


206 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


tainly  Imve  been  placed  on  Littleton  Island,  which  was  only 
half  a  mile  from  the  Greenland  shore.  Moreover,  in  the 
intervals  of  the  storm  the  beach  had  been  swept  with 
glasses,  and  no  signals  or  signs  of  human  beings  were  to  be 
seen. 

During  the  night  the  wind  increased  to  a  violent  gale,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  see  half  the  ship's  length  away.  Orders 
were  given  to  Sebree  to  take  a  depot  of  provioions,  amount- 
ing to  7(30  rations,  which  had  been  placed  on  deck,  and  land 
them  as  soon  as  a  lull  in  the  storm  would  permit.  This  was 
done  about  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  22d. 
The  Beebe  cache  had  been  selected  as  the  place  for  the 
depot.  To  reach  it  Sebree  pulled  a  mile  through  the  strait 
between  McGary  and  Littleton  Islands,  because,  if  he  had 
landed  on  the  ice  foot,  opposite  tiie  ship,  he  would  have  been 
obliged  to  sledge  the  provisions  to  the  northwestern  point. 
It  was  still  blowitig  hard  through  the  strait  when  Sebree 
landed  from  the  boat  and  hauled  his  provisions  up  to  a  gully 
in  the  rocks,  where  the  snow  would  cover  them.  i\fter 
making  his  cache,  he  crossed  over  to  the  coal-pile  and  the 
Narcs  cairn,  and  left  a  record  fur  Emory  and  (Joflin. 

There  were  now  two  sources  of  anxiety  on  board  the 
Thetis.  It  was  clear  that  Greely  hail  not  reached  Littleton 
Island.  It  was  just  possible,  though  hardly  to  bo  hoped 
in  view  of  the  course  of  action  agreed  upon  in  1881,  that 
he  sliould  have  remained  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  The  prob- 
ability, however,  was  that  he  had  moved  southwards,  but 
that  failing  strength,  or  loss  of  boats,  or  pome  other  mis- 
adventure had  prevented  his  reaching  Smith  Sound. 
Across  the  Sound,  t^hut  out  from  view  for  the  moment  by 
the  blackness  of  the  Arctic  storm,  lay  Cape  Sabine.     It 


Cajpe  York  to  Littleton  Island. 


207 


could  not  be  supposed  thai  he  had  reached  this  point,  for  the 
provisions  left  there  were  not  enough  to  sustain  life  during 
the  winter,  and  the  whale-boat  on  the  Cape  would  surely 
have  been  sent  over  to  the  Island  for  the  stores  landed  by 
the  Neptune.  Intense  as  was  the  desire  to  push  on  and 
solve  the  mystery,  some  apprehensions  were  felt  for  the 
Bear^  which  had  parted  company  at  Cape  York,  and  which, 
besides  having,  as  it  had  seemed,  several  hours  the  start, 
was  the  faster  vessel.  Before  attempting  the  ice  of  Kane 
Sea,  which  had  proved  fatal  to  the  Proteus^  it  was  well  for 
the  Thetis  to  know  something  of  the  fate  of  her  consort. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  determined  to  go  over  to  Cape  Sabine 
and  await  Emory  at  that  point.  Tiie  record  left  for  him  at 
Littleton  Island  was  to  inform  him  cf  this  intention.  At 
nooM  two  men  \^ere  sent  out  to  cast  off  the  lines  of  the 
Thetis  from  the  iceberg.  In  a  few  moments  they  can.e 
back,  and  to  the  great  relief  of  everybody,  reported  that 
they  had  sighted  a  steamer  between  McGary  and  Littleton 
Islands.  A  few  minutes  later  the  steanier  was  seen  from 
the  Thetis  and  at  once  recognized  to  be  the  Bear.  At  one 
o'clock  she  had  made  fast  on  the  port  quarter  of  the  flag- ship. 

Since  parting  from  her  consort  off  Capo  York,  the  Bear 
had  had  a  very  uncomfortable  time  of  it.  On  the  morning 
of  June  ISth  she  first  Bteamed  to  the  westward  with  the 
whalers,  following  the  edge  of  the  pack,  and  on  the  lookout 
for  a  lead  to  the  northward.  Kunaing  about  twenty  miles 
in  tiiis  direction  without  finding  an  opening,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, meeting  all  the  time  with  luuivior  and  more  danger- 
ous ice,  Emory  wisely  concluded  to  return  towards  the  land. 
By  noon  he  had  ruachud  a  point  within   eight  mileB  of 


It      V 


it 


.1  ' 


i 


Ill ; 


i\  <> ' 


If,  :»■ 


I 


208 


T/ie  Jicscue  of  Greehj. 


Cape  York,  but  the  Thetis  had  now  disappeared,  and  the 
lead  whicli  had  so  happily  opened  for  lier,  as  well  as  the 
cl(>ar  sheet  of  water  where  the  ships  had  been  lying,  had 
disa])pGared  also. 

The  position  of  the  Bear  off  Cape  York,  where  she  was 
compelled  to  remain  for  nearly  two  days,  was  in  many 
respects  the  most  disagreeable  she  had  yet  found,  and  cer- 
tainly she  had  at  no  time  been  in  greater  danger.  During 
the  afternoon  of  the  18th  she  was  in  a  heavy  fog  which  shut 
out  everything  from  view,  even  the  ice  in  her  neighborhood. 
At  three  o'clock  a  fortunate  lighting  up  of  the  fog  showed 
that  the  crack  in  which  she  was  lying  was  about  to  close. 
She  got  out  just  in  time,  for  no  sooner  had  she  moored  to  the 
floe  200  yards  away,  than  the  edges  of  the  ice  where  she  had 
been  anchored  came  together. 

During  all  the  afternoon  and  night,  and  well  on  into  the 
next  day,  the  Bear  was  obliged  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for 
the  masses  of  ice  wliich  the  winds  and  currents  kept  in  con- 
stant motion  about  the  Cape,  grinding  and  crushing  to- 
gether on  all  sides.  There  was  no  possibility  of  telling, 
during  most  of  the  time,  where  or  when  the  nip  was  comiiig, 
and  the  Bear  several  times  shifted  her  berth  to  escape  a 
possible  8(pieeze.  On  the  morning  of  the  liUh  two  floes 
between  which  she  was  lying  came  together,  rafting  the 
crushed-up  ice  heavily  just  astern  of  her.  She  was  just 
clear  of  tl.e  ]H)int  of  pressure.  IFad  she  boon  a  few  yards 
a^stern,  she  might  have  met  the  fate  of  the  Proteus, 

The  whalers  whom  Kmory  had  accompanied  were  not 
so  fortunate.  They  also  had  turned  batk,  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  lOth,  the  fog  lifting,  they  were  seen  four  or 
live  miles  to  the  southward  bcdct  in  the  pack.    The  Aurora 


cer- 


'"g» 


!       » 


I 
P 


I     I' 


Ca])(i  Yorh  to  Littleton  Island. 


209 


had  evidently  been  badly  nipped.  She  had  lowered  all  her 
boats  on  the  ice,  and  the  crew  appeared  to  be  making  prej)- 
arations  to  abandon  the  ship.  The  Arctic  and  the  Wolf 
were  doing  their  best  to  get  out  of  the  pack,  but  they  were 
unsuccessful  during  all  that  day  and  the  following  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th,  the  fog  settled  down  more 
heavily  than  ever,  but  the  ice  appeared  to  be  slacking.  At 
half-past  five,  steam  whistles  were  heard  not  far  off  to  the 
southeast,  and  at  six  the  Aurora  and  PTo^came  up,  hav- 
ing extricated  themselves  from  the  pack.  The  Arctio  was 
also  near  by,  but  was  invisible  in  the  fog.  The  Bear  got 
under  way  soon  after  the  others  had  come  up,  and  started 
through  the  loosened  pack.  It  was  slow  work  during  most 
of  the  time,  although  towards  noon  the  ship  had  a  fairly 
good  three  hours'  run.  The  fog  continued  all  day,  and  it 
was  only  at  intervals  that  the  land  could  be  seen.  From 
time  to  time  one  or  another  of  the  whalers  could  be  descried 
through  a  break  in  the  mist,  struggling  along  through  the 
winding  cracks  in  the  pack.  In  the  afternoon  very  little 
progress  was  made,  and  midnight  found  the  relief  ship  not 
far  from  Wolstenholmo  Island,  having  made  in  all  about 
fifty  miles. 

The  next  day,  Saturday,  the  2l8t,  was  still  less  satisfactory. 
The  fog  continued  heavy,  and  the  ice  was  worse  than  the 
day  before,  compelling  a  tortuous  course  which  brought  the 
vessel  no  nearer  to  her  destination  at  the  North.  In  fact  the 
whole  day  was  passed  in  running  out  to  the  Gary  Islands, 
where  the  ship  arrived  in  the  evening.  The  islands  could 
only  be  seen  at  occasional  moments,  and  the  Bear  found  it 
necessary  to  run  much  of  the  time  by  gueswwork.  After 
she  had  been  pushing  about  blindly  for  a  long  time,  the 
U 


< 


'm 


is  ' 


i 


!;« 


iit 


. 


11'^  f: 


I    i 


;■  ' 


210 


The  licscue  of  Greely. 


fog  suddenly  lifted,  and  Southeast  Gary  Island  was  seen  tvv(3 
miles  away. 

Arriving  at  8  p.m.,  Emory  landed  and  examined  the 
Nares  cache.  It  was  undisturbed,  and  the  condition  of  the 
provisions  seemed  to  be  as  good  as  at  Garlington'a  visit  of 
the  year  before.  Greely  had  certainly  not  been  here,  and. 
the  Bear,  at  a  little  before  midnight,  got  under  way  for 
Littleton  Island.  Three  hours  after  leaving  Gary  Island  she 
found  herself  in  open  water.  At  this  point  she  saw  the  last 
of  the  whalers.  They  were  far  away  to  the  south,  and 
steaming  to  the  westward,  evidently  making  for  Lancaster 
Sound.  With  the  help  ot  th^'  southerly  gale,  the  Bear  made 
Buch  short  work  of  the  i^st  of  her  passage,  that  in  ten 
hours  more  she  had  covered  the  seventy  miles  that  were  left 
of  her  journey,  and  at  one  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  Sun- 
day, the  22d,  as  already  rclattd,  she  joined  her  consort  at 
Littleton  Island. 


:  \  I 


I 


m 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  EESCUE. 


As  it  was  evident  that  Greely  had  not  been  at  Littleton 
Island,  it  was  decided  to  run  over  to  Cape  Sabine,  take  a 
look  at  the  cairns  and  caches  there,  make  a  new  depot  of 
four  thousand  rations,  as  a  supply  on  which  to  fall  back  in 
case  of  disaster,  and  push  north  at  once.  Leaving  a  final 
record  for  Coffin  on  McGary  Island,  the  Thetis  and  Bear 
sailed  from  Littleton  Island,  at  3  p.m.,  on  Sunday,  June  22d, 
with  a  strong  breeze,  increasing  at  intervals  to  a  heavy  gale. 
Fortunately  the  strait,  at  this  point  about  twenty-three  miles 
wide,  was  comparatively  clear  of  ice,  so  that  no  obstruction 
was  met  until  the  relief  ships  had  arrived  within  a  mile  or 
two  of  their  ice  anchorage  in  Payer  Harbor,  an  indentation 
of  the  coast  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sound,  partly  enclosed 
by  Brevoort,  Stalknecht,  and  Payer  Islands.  The  water  in 
the  bay  is  deep,  but  the  anchorage  is  unsafe,  being  exposed 
to  the  heavy  ice  which  drifts  through  the  strait  with  the 
strong  tides  after  the  break-up  of  early  summer  has  taken 
place. 

Brevoort  Island  is  the  largest  and  most  prominent  of  tho 
islands,  and  for  this  reason  doubtless  was  selected  by  Kares 
as  tho  sitf)  of  his  cairn.  It  lies  two  miles  south  of  Cape 
Sabine,  around  which,  throe  miles  to  the  westward,  was  the 
cache  made  by  Beebe  in  1882,  and  a  mile  further  on  along 

the  same  coast,  the  wreck-cache  where  Lieut.  Colwell  had 

(211) 


I     ! 


k    i 


:i 


ill 


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The  JiesGue  of  Greely. 


landed  the  stores  saved  from  the  wreck  of  the  Proteus  the 
year  before.  Stalknecht  Island,  a  long,  low  strip  of  land 
connected  at  low  tide  with  the  mainland,  lying  W.S.W. 
from  Brevoort  Island,  was  the  site  upon  which  the  English 
expedition  had  established  their  cache  of  provisions. 

The  harbor  was  frozen  over,  and  the  ships  were  made  fast 
to  the  northern  edge  of  the  ice,  just  off  Brevoort  Island.  In 
order  that  no  time  should  be  lost,  parties  were  detailed  to 
examine  simultaneously  all  the  depots  in  the  neighborhood. 
Lieutenant  Taunt,  with  Seamen  Yewell,  Brock,  and  Mitre, 
were  sent  to  Brevoort  Island,  and  Ensign  Harlow,  with  Sea- 
men Coffin  and  McLood,  to  the  English  cache  on  Stalknecht 
Island.  A  third  party,  composed  of  Chief-Engineer  Mel- 
ville, Dr.  Ames,  and  Seaman  Lindquist,  went  to  the  bottom 
of  Payer  Harbor  to  examine  the  coast  line  as  far  as  it  was 
accessible.  A  fourth  party,  in  the  Bear's  steam  cutter,  af- 
terwards known  as  the  "  Cub,"  was  made  up  of  Lieutenant 
Colwell,  Chief-Engineer  Lowe  of  the  Bear,  the  two  ice- 
masters,  Norman  and  Ash,  a  coxswain  and  two  men.  They 
set  out  to  go  around  Cape  Sabine  and  look  at  Beebe's  cache, 
and  at  Colwell's  wreck-cache. 

It  was  into,  ded  that,  as  soon  as  a  satisfactory  examination 
had  been  made  and  a  depot  landed,  the  ships  should  advance 
without  delay  into  Kane  Sea.  There  was  no  expectation  of 
finding  that  any  one  had  been  at  the  Cape,  or  that  the 
cairns  or  caches  had  been  disturbed,  as  it  was  clear  that  if 
Greely  had  ari'ived  he  would  have  been  short  of  provisions, 
and  would  therefore  have  sought  to  obtain  those  at  Littleton 
Island  ;  and  nobody  could  have  imagined  for  a  moment  that, 
with  prospective  starvation  on  one  side  of  the  strait,  and  a 
provision  depot  (although  a  small  one)  twenty-threo  miles 


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The  JRescue. 


213 


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off  on  the  other,  a  party  supplied  with  a  boat  and  oars  would 
have  preferred  the  former  alternative.  In  fact,  at  the  time 
the  cutter  started,  the  crew  of  the  Bear  were  gettins;  pro- 
visions on  dec''  to  be  in  readiness  for  the  sledge-journey  that 
was  to  be  made  northwards,  after  the  ships  were  stopped  by 
the  fast  ice.  As  the  cutter  left  the  ship,  Colwdl  picked  up 
i  can  of  hard-tack  and  two  one-pound  cans  of  pemmican,  as 
he  thought  that  his  party  might  be  out  all  night,  and  a  little 
of  something  to  eat  would  not  go  amiss. 

Within  half  an  hour  after  the  first  parties  had  left  the 
ship,  cheers  were  heard  above  the  roaring  of  the  wind.  At 
first  it  was  impossible  to  tell  from  what  quarter  the  sound 
proceeded,  but  soon  the  cheering  was  heard  a  second  time 
more  (fiStinctlv,  in  the  direction  of  Brevoort  Island.  Almost 
immediately  after,  ETiRign  Harlow  was  observed  signalling 
from  Stalkneclit  Island.  His  message  read :  "  Have  found 
Groely's  records ;  send  five  men." 

Before  this  request  could  be  carried  out,  Yewell  was  seen 
running  over  tiie  ice  towards  the  ships,  and  a  few  minutes 
later  he  came  on  board  almost  out  of  breath  with  the  in- 
formation that  Lieutenant  Taunt  had  found  a  message  from 
Greely  in  the  cairn  on  Brevoort  Island.  Yewell  brought 
the  papers  with  him,  and  called  out,  as  he  gave  them  to  the 
ofHoer  of  the  deck,  that  Grecly's  party  Avere  at  Cape  Sabine, 
all  well.  The  excitement  of  the  moment  was  intense,  and 
it  spread  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning  throujijh  both  the 
ships.  It  was  decided  instantly  to  go  ovi  to  the  Cape,  and  a 
general  recall  was  sounded  by  three  long  blasts  from  the 
steam  whistle  of  the  Thetis. 

Tlie  first  thing  to  be  done  before  taking  definite  action 
was  to  go  carefully  over  the  papers  that  Taunt  had  found. 


i 


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214 


Th^  Rescue  of  Greely. 


All  the  officers  who  had  remained  behind  in  the  two  ships 
gathered  around  the  ward-room  table  of  the  Thetis,  and  the 
records  were  hurriedly  read  aloud.  As  one  paper  after  an- 
other was  quickly  turned  over,  until  the  last  was  reached,  it 
was  discovered  with  horror  that  the  latest  date  borne  by  any 
of  them  was  Oct.  21, 1883,  and  that  but  forty  days'  complete 
rations  were  left  to  live  upon.  Ei^jht  months  had  elapsed 
since  then,  and  the  belief  was  almost  irresistible  that  the 
whole  party  must  have  perished  during  this  terrible  period 
of  waiting  and  watching  for  relief.  This  was  the  brief  story 
told  by  the  records : 


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The  International  Polar  Expedition  waa  fitted  out  by  the  "War  Depart- 
ment of  the  United  States,  under  the  supervision  of  General  W.  B. 
Hazen,  Chief  Signal  Officer. 

Sailing  from  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  July  9th,  it  touched  at  Disko, 
Ritteubenk,  Upcmivik,  Gary  Islands,  Littleton  Island,  Cape  Hawks, 
Carl  Ritter  Bay,  and  was  stopped  by  ice  for  the  first  time  in  Lady 
Franklin  Bay,  near  Cape  Lieber.  It  landed  in  Discovery  Harbor,  August 
12th.    The  steamship  Proteus  sailed  August  26th, 

The  winter  of  1881-83  proved  to  be  of  remarkable  severity  ;  the  cor- 
rected mean  for  February  of  a  thermometer  on  the  floe  was — 48'  03'. 
Musk-ox  meat  was  procured  in  large  quantities  and  other  game  to  less 
extent.  Lieutenant  Lockwood,  during  the  autumn,  explored  the  "  Bel- 
lows "  and  the  valley  of  St.  Patrick's  Bay,  and  attempted  in  November, 
twenty-one  days  after  the  sun  left  us,  to  cross  Robeson  Channel,  but  wa« 
obliged  by  open  water  and  heavy  ice,  to  turn  back  several  miles  from 
Cape  Beechy. 

Starting  eleven  days  before  the  sun  returned,  he  examined  Robeson 
Channel  off  Cape  Beechy,  and  leaving  March  1st,  visiting  Thank  God 
Harbor  via  Capycs  Beechy  and  Lupton,  returned  via  Newman  Bay  and 
Cape  Sumner  March  11th,  having  been  detained  two  days  by  violent 
storm. 

Dr.  Pavy  visited  Lincoln  Bay  in  September,  established  depots  in 
Wrangell  Bay  in  October,  and  near  Mt.  Parry  in  November,  returning 
on  the  8th,  and  between  March  5th  and  9th,  1882,  established  a  depot 
near  Cape  Sumner,  On  October  2d,  he  started  to  visit  Cape  Joseph 
Henry,  but  was  turned  back  by  open  water  at  the  Black  Cliffs.    He 


The  Rescue, 


215 


leaves  Marcli  18,  1882,  to  reach  land,  if  possible,  north  of  Cape  Joseph 
Henry,  Lieutenant  Lockwood  leaves  April  1st,  to  explore  the  land 
north  and  cast  of  Cape  Britannia.  The  commanding  officer  proposes 
later  an  attempt  to  reach  the  western  shore  of  Grinnell  Land  via  Black 
Cliffs  Valley. 

The  health  of  the  command  has  continued  excellent  to  the  present 
time.  No  signs  of  scurvy  except  possibly  Eskimo  Jens ;  all  well  at 
present  date  (March  15,  1882).  The  winter  has  passed  comfortably  and 
pleasantly. 

A.  W.  Greelt, 
1»<  Lt.,  5th  Cav.,  A.  S.  0.  and  Ass't, 
Commanding  Expedition. 


This  record  is  de]X)sited  by  Octave  Pavy,  who  leaving  Fort  Conger, 
October  27,  1882,  with  party  of  D.  L,  Brainard— 

October  31,  1882. 

Taken  up  August  12,  1883,  by  Lieutenant  Greely  and  party  going 
southward  to  Littleton  Isiand. 


Fort  Conger,  G.  L,,  October  26. 1882. 
During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1882,  the  following  trips  have  been 
made  :  A.  A.  Surgeon  O.  Pavy  left  March  19th  to  reach  land  north  of 
Cape  Joseph  Henry,  but  returned  May  4th,  having  found  open  Avater  in 
the  Polar  Ocean,  where  he  was  for  a  time  afloat  with  his  party  on  the 
moving  ice-pack.  Lieutenant  J.  B.  Lockwood  left  April  8d,  and  re- 
turned June  2d,  having  in  the  meantime  discovered  llazcn  Coast,  which 
extends  northeastward  from  Cape  Britannia  to  83°  30'  N,,  and  about  38° 
W.  He  reached  83°  24'  N.,  and  40°  46'  W.  No  land  directly  north  or 
northwest,  although  horizon  was  searched  on  clear  days  from  altitude 
of  over  2,000  feet.  The  coast  still  continued  its  trend  to  the  N.E.  (tr.) 
The  commanding  officer  penetrating  the  interior  of  Grinnell  Land  in 
April,  and  again  in  July,  discovered  a  lake  about  00  miles  by  8,  called 
Lake  Hazen,  and  reached  Mt.  C.  A.  Arthur  81°  13'  N.,  74°  10'  W., 
whence  from  an  elevation  of  4,500  feet  a  view  was  had  on  a  very  clear 
day.  Low  land  to  the  W.S.W.  and  S.  as  far  as  eye  could  reach.  In 
W.S.W.  in  slight  depression,  from  75  to  100  miles  distant  a  range  of 
mountains  whicli  possibly  are  on  a  land  separated  from  Grinnell  Land  by 
a  narrow  strait.  During  August  launch  L  ly  Oreely  ran  to  head  Arclicr 
Fiord  and  part  way  into  Howgatc  Fiord,  which  latter,  inland  from  Mil- 
ler's Island,  receives  the  water  of  Lake  Hazen  via  Ruggles  River.    No 


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216 


The  liesGiis  of  Greely. 


casualties  to  date  ;  all  well  at  present.  In  case  of  no  vessel,  the  station 
will  be  abandoned  August  11,  1883,  the  party  retreating  by  boats  along 
the  wjst  coast  of  Kennedy  Channel  and  Smith  Sound. 

A.  "W.  Greely, 
1st  Lt.,  5th  Cav.,  A.  S.  0.  and  Ass't, 
Commanding  Expedition. 


Record  left  by  Lieutenant  Greely,  Commanding  Polar  Expedition  en 
route  to  Littleton  Island  with  ultimate  intention  of  reaching  S.E.  Cary 
Island  : 

I  abandoned  Fort  Conger,  G.  L.,  August  9,  1883.  at  3  p.m.,  with  a 
party  of  twenty  ive ;  all  well.  Reached  Cppe  Baird  August  10th,  and 
left  same  evening  near  midnight,  steam-launch  Lndy  Greely  iowmg  boats 
Valorous,  J^cMimont,  and  whale-boat.  On  board  5,500  lbs.  coal  and  over 
forty  days'  rations.  Took  up  enough  at  Cape  Cracroft  to  make  forty- 
five  daya'  rations.  Had  foggy  weather  with  snow ;  met  some  ice. 
Reached  Carl  Ritter  Ray  about  10  p.m.,  August  12th,  and  took  up  cache, 
leaving  at  once  with  about  fifty  days'  complete  rations,  except  sugar. 
Stopped  by  floe  about  80°  4Si'  N.,  morning  August  13th.  Took  up  depot 
of  240  rations  at  C^po  CoUinsou,  August  22d,  and  at  1  p.m.,  August  2!)d, 
were  tied  up  *:t  i'!e  foot  about  two  miles  south  of  Cape  Norton  Shaw. 
Stopped  by  dcusc  a  iibblc  ice,  which  extended  as  far  south  as  could  be 
seen.  All  well  at  that  lane.  Reached  Cape  Hawks  August  26th,  took 
up  108  lbs.  potatoes  111  lbs.  p'V^klcs,  250  lbs.  broad,  821  lbs.  stearine. 
Left  same  afternoon,  anrl  wei-e  beset  that  night  in  about  73"  W.,  79°  25' 
N.,  in  attempting  to  reach  Victoria  Head  by  direct  course.  All  well 
August  27,  18H3.  No  signs  of  a  ship  or  of  depots  for  us  have  been  seen, 
altliough  the  shore  has  been  carefully  followed  and  watched.  A  N.E. 
gale  forced  us  down  to  79"  00'  00"  N.,  74"  45'  W.,  when  temperature  fell, 
September  8th,  to  0.8\  freezing  in  the  party.  It  is  the  intention  to  aban- 
don launch  Lady  Greely  and  one  boat  Monday,  September  10th,  and  to 
reach  Cape  Sabine  with  two  boats  by  sledge  ria  Cocked  Hat  Island. 

Party  all  well  and  in  good  sjiirits  at  date.  Have  about  forty  days' 
complete  rations.  It  is  the  intention,  as  soon  aa  separation  shall  be  safe, 
to  send  an  oflkier  and  two  men  to  Brevoort  Island  to  obtain  record  which 
should  In^  tliere,  of  tlie  movemeiiiH  of  ship  and  location  of  depot  this 
year.  If  boats  have  been  left  there,  it  will  greatly  facillti-.te  our  move- 
ments and  Increase  our  chances  of  safety.  Abandoned  laiuich  and  one 
boat  September  10th,  and  later  another  boat.  Driven  into  the  middle  of 
Kane  Sea  twice  by  S.W.  gales  ;  once  from  about  three  njiles  ofT  (\i('ke(l 
Hal  Island,  and  again  from  about  siime  distance  from  Sabine  ;  yet  later, 


I 


The  Rescue. 


217 


Lbe  station 
oats  along 


Ass't, 
ledition. 

edition  en 
S.E.  Gary 

tf.,  with  a 
lOth,  and 
ving  boats 
1  and  over 
alee  forty- 
some  ice. 
up  cache, 
3pt  sugar. 
:  up  depot 
igust  25]d, 
ion  Shaw, 
could  be 
26th,  took 
.  stcarine. 
T.,  79°  25' 
All  well 
icon  seen, 
AN.E. 
aturefell, 
1  to  abnn- 
;h,  and  to 
md. 

>rty  days' 
be  safe, 
ni  which 
('pot  this 
|>ur  movo- 
1  and  one 
iiiddlc  of 
T  (\)cked 
yet  later, 


when  within  two  miles  of  Brevoort  Island,  driven  by  a  N.'W.  gale  and 
ice-pressure  to  north  side  Baird  Inlet,  between  Leffert  and  Alfred  New- 
ton glaciers  of  Admiralty  chart,  or  just  north  of  Cape  Patterson,  Nares 
map.  Reached  land  September  29th,  with  one  boat,  12-man  sledge,  25 
days'  rations.  Party  of  twenty -five  all  well  yet,  and  hopeful  of  future. 
Lieutenant  Lockwood  probably  btart?  for  Sabine  October  1st,  and  will 
deposit  this  record.  If  no  rations  except  English  are  found,  they  will 
be  hauled  away  to  this  point,  and  Cape  Isabella  visited  by  sledge,  in 
hope  of  finding  another  there ;  as  a  forlorn  hope,  when  rations  are  re- 
duced to  ten  days,  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  reac'^  Littleton  Island  by 
sledge,  leaving  records  and  cairn  here  with  boat;  records  to  be  not  exceed- 
ing 35  feet  from  boat.  Pendulum  and  duplicate  records  will  be  cached 
at  site  of  English  depot  by  Lieutenant  Lockwood.  Hope  to  obtain  game 
enough  to  keep  us  alive  until  February,  when  we  will  stjirt  for  Littleton 
Island  as  soon  as  sun  permits  travelling. 

A.  "W.   GUEELY, 

Ut  Lt.,  5th  Cav.,  A.  8.  0.  and  Ass't, 
September  80,  1883,                                        Commanding  Expedition. 
If.  side  Baird  Inlet.    

Visit  Brevoort  Island  for  maps  and  records  in  English  cairn.  Our 
party  winter  under  desperate  circumstances,  in  imminent  danger  of  star- 
vation, on  N.  side  Baird  Inlet.    All  well ;  twenty-flve  yet  in  party. 

A.  W.  Gkkely, 
1st  Lt.,  5th  Cav.,  A.  S.  0.  and  Ass't, 
September  80,  1883,                                       Commanding  Ex2)edition. 
If,  «tut  fiaird  Inlet.    

Left  Lieutenant  Qreely's  party  at  north  side  Baird  Inlet  on  October 
1st,  accompanied  by  one  Eskimo,  and  arrived  at  Payer  Harbor  yester- 
day, October  5th.  Encountered  great  difllculty  in  travelling.  Rosse 
Bay  and  all  its  ramifications  entirely  open,  and  a  strait  found  optMiing 
out  to  the  west  of  Cocked  Hat  Island  and  separating  Sabine  from  main 
land,  had  to  be  followed  on  the  inside  throughout  its  entire  length. 

Travelled  through  thick  weather  yesterday,  and  did  not  see  cache 
landed  from  wreck  of  Proteus,  and  mentioned  in  Lieutenant  Garling- 
ton'a  notice,  but  found  depot  cf  210  rations  marked  by  tripod  all  right. 
Boat  daniiiged  as  stated.  The  cache  of  clothing  opposite  the  place  lirts 
beeji  scattered  by  bears.  Two  bags  of  hard  bread  foiiiid  with  the  cloth- 
ing; one  jmrtly  destroyed  (also  some  ....).  I  shall  now  endeavor  to 
examine  th(-  English  cache  so  that  we  may  know  what  to  depend  upon, 
I  ut  it  is  now  a  dense  fog  and  the  ice  not  very  secure,  and  it  is  possible  I 


U 


218 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


i     ! 


i       it 


J       ,   1 


,         i 


may  have  to  return  to  my  party  without  the  information  regarding  the 
latter  cache.  It  is  impossible  for  Lieutenant  Greely  and  party  to  move 
with  their  equipment  to  this  neighborhood  until  later  in  the  season,  and 
it  is  my  opinion  he  will  go  into  winter  quarters  at  his  pijscnt  position, 
and  send  for  the  provisions  herein  mentioned  so  soon  as  Rosse  Bay 
freezes  over. 

I  take  up  all  records  concerning  us  for  Lieutenant  Greely's  informa- 
tion, as  I  can  not  wait  to  make  copies. 

Too  cold  to  add  further  particulars.    I  start  back  at  once. 

Geo.  H.  Rice, 

Signal  Goi^is, 
October  6,  1888.  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition. 


My  party  is  now  permanently  encamped  on  the  west  side  of  a  small 

neck  of  land  which  connects  the  wreck-cache  cove  or  bay  and  the  one  to 

its  west.    Distant  about  equally  from  Cape  Sabine  and  Cocked  Hat 

Island.     All  well. 

A.  W.  Que  ELY, 

1st  LU,  5th  Cav.,  A.  R  O.  and  Ass't, 

Sunday,  Oct.  21,  1888.  Commanding  Expedition. 


It  was  a  wonderful  Btory.  It  told  liow  the  expedition, 
dnrint:^  its  two  years  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  had  marked 
out  the  interior  of  Grinnell  Land,  and  how  Lockwood  had 
followed  the  northern  shore  of  Greenland,  and  luid  re- 
claimed for  America  the  honor  of  "  the  farthest  north."  Lut 
there  was  no  time  now  to  think  of  what  the  expedition  had 
accomplislied, — that  was  ah'eady  a  matter  of  history.  The 
pressing  question  was,  where  was  Greely's  party  now  ?  and 
to  that  quok^tion  it  vas  too  prohablo  that  there  was  hut  one 
answer. 

The  recoi'da  liad  named  the  wreck- cache  as  tlio  site  of 
Gi'eely'd  camp,  and  preparations  were  made  at  once  to  ^o 
there.  'J'he  cutter,  'vith  Colwell  and  liis  party  on  board, 
had  not  yet  got  away,  having  been  8toj)pcd  by  the  erica 
from  the  t*hore,  and  she  now  steamed  hack  under  the  stern 


i  IT 


-1 


The  JRescue. 


219 


ding  the 
to  move 
son,  and 
position, 
DS8C  Bay 

infornaa- 


:ditufn, 

f  a  small 
he  one  to 
iked  Hut 

Anff't, 
^edition. 

)e(litioii, 
marked 
00(1  bad 
luid  re- 
"  Eut 
ion  hud 
Tl.o 
w  ?  and 
but  one 


Y 


site  of 

t;e  to  go 

board, 

lio  criea 

10  eteru 


of  the  Thetis.  Colwell  was  directed  to  go  to  the  Bite  of  the 
cache  and  look  for  the  explorers ;  and  if  any  were  alive — of 
■which  the  record  gave  little  hope — to  tell  them  that  relief 
was  close  at  hand.  As  he  was  about  to  leave,  he  called  out 
for  a  boat-flag,  and  one  was  thrown  to  him  from  the  ship. 
This  was  bent  on  a  boat-hook,  and  set  up  in  the  stern  of  the 
boat. 

Before  the  cutter  had  disappeared  to  the  northward  the 
commander  of  the  expedition  had  gone  on  board  the  Bear, 
and  the  ship  was  under  way,  following  the  track  of  the  cut- 
ter around  the  cape.  The  detachment  under  llarlow,  which 
liad  found  Greely's  scientific  records  and  instruments  on 
Stalknecht  Island,  and  the  other  party  under  Melvills,  some 
of  whom  had  not  yet  retnrnod,  were  to  come  after  in  the 
Thetis^  which  was  left  behind  to  pick  them  u]).  The  pas- 
sage which  the  ships  and  the  cutter  were  to  make  was  about 
BIX  miles,  although  from  Payer  Harbor  to  the  wreck  cache, 
in  a  straight  lino,  across  the  rugged  neck  of  intervening 
land,  it  was  less  than  half  that  distance.  Fortunately  the 
pouilierly  gale  had  set  the  ice  off  shore  into  Kane  Sea,  leav- 
ing a  clear  pass;igo  around  for  the  vessels. 

It  was  half  past  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  as  the  cutter 
steamed  around  the  rocky  bluff  of  Cape  Sabine,  and  made 
her  way  to  the  cove,  four  miles  further  on,  which  Colwell 
remembered  so  well  from  his  hurried  landing  with  the  stores 
on  the  terrible  night  following  the  wreck  of  the  Proteiiit. 
The  storm,  which  had  been  raging  with  only  slight  intervals 
since  early  tlie  day  before,  still  kept  up,  and  the  wind  was 
driving  in  bitter  gusts  througl>  the  oi)ening8  in  the  ridgo 
that  followed  the  coast  to  the  westward.  Althougli  the  sky 
was  overcast,  it  was  broad  daylight,- — the  daylight  of  a  dull 


O' 


r 


i 


,1: 


fi: 


1^       '.' 


ft        < 


V      I 


220 


T^e  Rescue  of  Greely. 


winter  afternoon, — and  as  the  cutter  passed  along,  Colwell 
could  recognize  the  familiar  landmarks  of  the  year  before ; 
the  long  sweep  of  the  rocky  coast,  with  its  ice-foot  spanning 
every  cove,  the  snow  gathered  in  the  crevices,  the  projecting 
headlands,  and  the  line  nf  the  ice-pack  which  had  ground 
up  the  Proteue,  dimly  seen  in  the  mists  I )  the  north, 
across  the  tossina:  waters  of  Kane  Sea.  At  last  the  boat 
arrived  at  the  site  of  the  wreck  ca^he,  and  the  shore  was 
eagerly  scanned,  but  nothing  could  be  seen.  Rounding  tho 
next  point,  the  cutter  opened  out  the  cove  beyond.  There, 
on  the  top  of  a  little  rid^e,  fifty  or  sixty  yards  above  the 
ice  foot,  was  plainly  outlined  the  figure  of  a  man.  Instantly 
the  coxswain  caught  up  the  boat-hook  and  waved  lis  flag. 
The  man  on  the  ridge  liad  seen  them,  for  he  stooped,  picked 
up  a  signal  flag  from  the  rock,  and  waved  it  in  reply.  Then 
he  was  seen  coming  slowly  and  cautiously  down  the  steep 
rocky  slope.  Twice  he  fell  down  before  he  reached  the  foot. 
As  he  approached,  still  walking  feebly  and  with  difficulty, 
Colwell  h.iiled  him  from  tlie  bow  of  the  boat : 

"Who  all  are  there  left?" 

*' Seven  left.-' 

As  the  cutter  struck  the  ice,  Colwell  jumped  off  and  went 
up  to  him.  He  was  a  ghastly  sight.  His  cheeks  were  hol- 
low, his  eyes  wild,  his  hair  and  beard  long  and  matted.  His 
army  blouse,  covering  several  thicknesses  of  shiris  and  jack- 
ett,  was  ragged  and  dirty.  He  wore  a  little  fur  cap  and 
rough  moccasins  of  uucaiined  leather  tied  around  the  leg. 
As  he  spoke,  his  utterance  was  thick  and  mumbling,  and  in 
his  agitation  his  jaws  worked  in  convulsive  twitches.  As  the 
two  met,  the  man,  witli  a  sudden  impulse,  took  oft' his  glove 
!ind  shook  Coi well's  hand. 


The  Resc^ie. 


221 


leer. 


"Where  are  they  ? "  asked  Colwell,  briefly. 

"  In  the  tent,"  said  the  man,  pointing  over  his  shoulder, 
"  over  the  hill — the  tent  is  down." 

"  Is  Mr.  Greely  alive  ? " 

"  i'os,  Greely'a  alive." 

"  Any  other  officers  ? " 

"No."     Then  be  repeateu  absently,  "The  tent  is  down." 

"  Who  are  you  \ " 

"Long." 

Before  this  colloquy  was  o\er,  Lowe  and  Norman  had 
started  up  the  hill.  Hastily  filling  his  pockets  with  bread, 
and  taking  the  two  cans  of  pemmican,  Colwell  told  the  cox- 
swain to  take  Long  into  the  cutter,  and  started  after  the 
others  with  Ash.  Reaching  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  and  look- 
ing southward,  tliey  saw  spread  out  before  them  a  desolate 
expanse  of  rocky  ground,  sloping  gradually  from  a  ridge  on 
tlie  east  to  the  ice-covered  shore,  which  at  the  west  made  in 
and  formed  a  cove.  Back  of  the  level  space  was  a  range  of 
hills  rising  up  eight  hundred  feet,  with  a  precipitous  face, 
broken  in  two  by  a  gorge,  through  which  the  wind  was 
blowing  furiously.  On  a  little  elevation  directly  in  front 
was  the  tent.  Hurrying  on  across  the  intervening  hollow, 
Colwell  came  up  with  Lowe  and  Norman,  just  as  they  were 
greeting  a  soldierly-looking  man  who  had  come  out  from  the 
tent. 

As  Colwell  approached,  Norman  was  saying  to  the  man : 

"  There  is  the  Lieutenant." 

And  ho  added  to  Colwell : 

"  This  is  Sergeant  Brainard.'" 

Brainard  immediately  drew  himself  up  to  the  "  position  of 
the  soldier,"  and  waa  abc.it  to  salute,  when  ColwclJ  took  his 
band. 


W 


i 


i^ 


\\ 


'••!ll 


% 


k  •' 


\     i,' 


I 

II 

y 

III'' 

• 

\\ 

222 


TJie  Hescue  of  Gredy. 


At  this  moment  there  was  a  confused  murmur  within  the 
tent,  and  a  voice  said : 

"Who's  there?" 

Norman  answered,  "It's  Norman — Norman  who  was  in 
the  Proteus.''^ 

This  was  followed  by  cries  of  "  Oh,  it's  Norman  ! "  and  a 
sound  like  a  feeble  cheer. 

Meanwhile  o?ie  of  the  relief  party,  who  in  his  agitation 
and  excitement  was  crying  like  a  child,  was  down  on  his 
hands  and  knees  trying  to  roll  away  the  stones  that  held 
down  the  flapping  tent  cloth.  The  tent  was  a  "tepik"  or 
wigwam  tent,  with  a  fly  attached.  The  fly  with  its  posts 
and  ridge-pole  had  been  wrecked  by  the  gale  which  had 
been  blowing  for  thirty-six  hours,  and  the  pole  of  the  tepik 
was  toppling  over,  and  only  kept  in  place  by  the  guy  ropes. 
There  was  no  entrance  except  under  the  flap  opening,  which 
was  held  down  by  stones.  Colwell  called  for  a  knife,  cut  a 
slit  in  the  tent  cover,  and  looked  in. 

It  was  a  sight  of  horror.  On  one  side,  close  to  the  open- 
ing, with  his  head  towards  the  outside,  lay  what  was  appar- 
ently a  dead  man.  His  jaw  had  dropped,  his  eyes  were 
open,  but  tixed  and  glassy,  his  limbs  were  motionless.  On 
the  opposite  side  was  a  poor  fellow,  alive  to  be  sure,  but 
without  hands  or  feet,  and  with  a  spoon  tied  to  the  stump  of 
his  right  arm.  Two  others,  seated  on  the  ground,  in  the 
middle,  had  just  got  down  a  rubber  bottle  that  hung  on  the 
tent  po' .,  and  were  pouring  from  it  into  a  tin  can.  Directly 
opposite,  on  his  hands  and  knees,  was  a  dark  man  with  a 
long  matted  board,  in  a  dirty  and  tattered  dressing-gown 
with  a  little  red  skull  cap  on  his  head,  and  brilliant,  staring 
eyes.  As  Colwell  appeared,  he  raised  himself  a  little,  and 
put  on  a  pair  of  eye-glasses. 


if 


The  liescue. 


223 


«Wlio  are  you?"  asked  Cohvell. 

Tlie  man  made  no  answer,  staring  at  him  vacantly. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  again. 

One  of  the  men  spoke  up:  "That's  the  Major — Major 
Greely." 

Colv7cll  crawled  in  and  took  him  by  the  hand,  saying  to 
liim,  "  Greely,  is  this  you  ? " 

"  Yes,"  said  Greely  in  a  faint,  broken  voice,  hesitating  and 
shuffling  wi  til  his  words,  "Yes — seven  of  us  left — here  we 
arc — dying — like  men.  Did  what  I  came  to  do — beat  the 
best  record." 

Then  he  fell  back  exhausted. 

The  four  men  in  the  tent  with  Greely  were  two  Sergeants, 
Elison  and  Fredericks ;  Bierderhick,  the  hospital  steward  ; 
and  Private  Connell,  who  with  Brainard  and  Long  were  all 
that  remained  of  the  twenty -five  members  of  the  Lady 
Franklin  Bay  Expedition.  The  scene,  as  Cohvell  looked 
around,  was  one  of  misery  and  squalor.  The  rocky  floor 
was  covered  with  cast-off  clothes,  and  among  them  were 
huddled  together  the  sleeping-bags  in  which  the  party  had 
spent  most  of  their  time  during  the  last  few  months.  There 
was  no  food  left  in  the  tent  but  two  or  three  cans  of  a  thin, 
repulsive-looking  jolly,  made  by  boiling  strips  cut  from  the 
sealskin  clothing.  The  bottle  on  the  tent-pole  still  held  a 
few  teaspoonfuls  of  brandy,  but  it  was  their  last,  and  they 
were  sharing  it  as  Colwell  entered.  It  was  evident  that 
most  of  them  had  not  long  to  live. 

Connell  was  for  the  moment  in  the  worst  condition  of  all. 
WheJi  Colwell  first  caw  his  nearly  inanimate  body,  it  seemed 
that  life  was  extinct;  and  in  fact  he  had  almost  ceased  to 
breathe.     He  was  speechless,  his  heart  barely  pulsating,  his 


!      i 


224 


The  Rescue  of  Gveely. 


'•i      / 


body  cold,  and  all  sensation  gone.  The  brandy  which  lag 
companions  were  giving  him  revived  him  a  little,  and  with 
returning  consciousness,  he  could  just  gather  the  idea  that 
relief  had  come,  and  that  he  must  brace  himself  to  live. 
■  Elison,  who  was  next  him,  though  not  in  such  dire  ex- 
tremity, was  little  better  off.  His  hands  and  feet  had  been 
frozen  off  in  a  journey  made  seven  months  before,  in  a  vain 
attempt  to  get  the  English  meat  at  Cape  Isabella,  and  all 
that  time  he  had  lain  helpless  in  his  sleeping-bag.  Cared 
for  by  the  others,  his  mind  and  body  had  wasted  somewhat 
less  than  theirs,  but  he  had  nearly  reached  the  limit  of  his 
endurance. 

The  two  others  in  the  tent.  Sergeant  Fredericks,  and 
Bierdcrbick,  the  hospital  steward,  were  too  weak  and  ex- 
hausted to  stand  long,  much  less  to  walk.  Their  worst 
symptom,  apart  from  their  weakness,  was  their  swollen  con- 
dition. In  their  experience  of  the  last  six  months,  when 
they  had  seen  the  others  pass  away,  one  after  another,  they 
had  learned  to  recognize  this  as  the  surest  sign  of  the  ap- 
proaching end,  and  although  now  their  faculties  were  more 
or  less  blunted,  they  had  realized  that  the  hand  of  death 
was  on  them,  and  that  a  little  more  would  put  an  end  to  the 
liorroi's  of  existence. 

Except  Conncll  and  Elison,  the  feeblest  of  the  party  was 
Lieutenant  Greely.  His  strength  was  failing  fast.  lie  could 
not  stand  upright,  and  for  some  time  he  had  not  left  his 
Bleeping  bag.  Ho  lived  on  the  food  which  the  others 
brought  him,  but  all  pangs  of  hunger  had  ceased,  and  his 
wasted  form  and  sunken  eyes  and  swollen  joints  told  plainly 
enough  what  was  in  store  for  him. 

The  two  other  survivors  of  the  party,  Long  and  Brainard, 


■I  ' 


The  Rescue. 


225 


■who  had  been  first  found,  were  in  somewhat  better  condi- 
tion. Tliey  were  men  of  more  than  ordinary  endurance, 
and  it  is  of  course  idle  to  speculate  upon  what  might  have 
!)een  their  end  if  relief  had  not  been  at  hand.  Brainard, 
though  much  weakened,  had  latterly  been  Lieutenant 
Greoly's  right-hand  man.  Long  had  been  the  hunter  for 
the  starving  party,  and  it  was  necessary  to  increase  his  pit- 
tance of  food  above  that  of  the  others,  so  that  he  might  have 
strength  for  his  work,  but  the  effects  of  his  continued  effort 
could  be  seen  in  his  wasted  body.  His  journeys  had  grown 
shorter  and  shorter  fi-om  week  to  week,  and  in  the  stormy 
weather  which  prevailed  during  much  of  the  time  at  Cape 
Sabine,  he  could  not  go  at  all. 

As  soon  as  Colwell  understood  the  condition  of  affairs,  he 
Bont  Chief-Engineer  Lowe  back  to  the  cutter  to  put  off  to 
the  Bear  with  Long,  to  report  what  had  happened,  and 
bring  off  the  others  with  the  surgeon  and  stimulants.  Fred- 
ericks and  Bierderbick  presently  got  up  and  came  out.  Col- 
well gave  them,  as  well  as  Grecly  and  Elison,  a  little  of  the 
biscuit  lie  had  in  his  pocket,  wliich  they  munched  slowly 
and  deliberately.  Then  he  gave  them  another  bit,  while 
Norman  opc^^ed  one  of  the  cans  of*  pemmican.  Scraping  oti 
a  little  with  a  knife  Colwell  fed  them  slowly  by  turns.  It 
was  a  pitiable  sight.  They  could  not  stand  up  and  had 
dropped  down  on  tiicir  knees,  and  held  out  their  hands,  beg- 
ging for  more.  After  they  had  each  been  fed  twice,  they 
were  told  that  they  had  hud  enough,  that  they  could  not  eat 
more  then  without  danger  ;  but  their  hunger  had  now  come 
back  with  full  force,  and  they  begged  pitoously  to  be  helped 
again,  protesting  that  it  could  do  them  no  harm.  Colwell 
was  wisely  deaf  to  their  entreaties  and  threw  away  the  can. 
15 


!| 


.i    i| 


■:  I 


II 

1    ! 


226 


The  HesGue  of  Gredy. 


S    i!    i:j 


mi  i 


When  Greely  found  that  he  was  refused  he  took  out  a  can 
of  the  boiled  sealskin,  which  had  been  carefully  husbanded, 
and  which  he  said  he  had  a  right  to  eat,  as  it  was  his  own. 
This  was  taken  away  from  him,  but  while  Colwell  was  at 
work  trying  to  raise  the  tent,  some  one  got  the  half-emptied 
can  of  pemniican,  and  \)y  the  time  it  was  discovered  the 
party  had  scooped  out  and  eaten  its  contents. 

The  weaker  ones  were  like  children,  petulant,  rambling 
and  fitful  in  their  talk,  absent,  and  sometimes  a  little  inco- 
lierent.  "While  they  were  waiting  for  the  return  of  the  boat, 
Colwell  and  the  ice-masters  did  their  best  to  cheer  them  up 
by  telling  them  that  relief  was  at  hand,  and  that  the  others 
would  soon  arrive.  They  could  not  realize  it,  and  refused  to 
believe  it.  So  they  were  humored,  and  by  way  of  taking  up 
their  thoughts,  Colwell  told  them  something  of  what  had 
been  going  on  in  the  world  during  their  three  years  of  exile. 
Curiously  enough,  there  was  much  that  they  knew  already. 
It  turned  out  that  among  the  stores  from  the  Proteus  were 
two  boxes  of  lemons,  and  the  fruit  had  been  wrapped  up  in 
scraps  of  English  newspapers — "those  lemons  which  your 
dear  wife  put  up  for  us,"  as  one  of  them  said  to  Colwell,  in 
a  moment  of  wandering  fancy.  The  latter  could  only  dis- 
claim the  imaginary  obligation  to  an  imaginary  person,  but 
the  impression  had  already  faded. 

As  Greely  complained  of  cold,  Colwell  gave  him  his 
gloves,  and  persuaded  him  to  go  back  to  his  sleeping-bag. 
This  was  lying  under  the  fallen  tent-cloth,  which  the  party 
had  been  too  weak  or  too  disfjouraged  to  raise  up  and  dis- 
engage. Where  the  single  remaining  pole  supported  the 
tent  tliere  was  a  clear  space  of  perhaps  six  feet,  just  enough 
for  a  man  to  stand  upright,  but  around  it  the  canvas  was 


Pi 


The  Rescue. 


227 


?-bag. 


lying  on  the  ground.  The  bag,  from  wliich  Greely  had 
hardly  moved  for  a  month,  was  found  under  the  canvas, 
and  by  the  united  efforts  of  the  three  men  the  tent  was 
p;irtly  raised. 

Meanwhile  the  Bear  had  arrived  and  Lowe  had  .f^one  off 
in  the  cutter,  taking  with  him  Sergeant  Long.  Long  was 
too  weak  to  get  on  board  withont  assistance,  and  was  l.fted 
over  the  side  by  some  of  tlie  crew  and  taken  to  a  chair  in 
the  ward-room.  In  reply  to  questions  about  the  party  and 
their  condition,  Long,  in  a  husky  voice,  told  his  story:  that 
all  were  dead  except  Greely  and  five  others,  who  were  on 
shore  in  ''  sore  distress — sore  distress";  that  they  had  had  a 
hard  winter,  and  "  the  wonder  was  how  in  God's  name  they 
had  pulled  through. "  Ko  words  can  describe  the  pathos  of  this 
man's  broken  and  enfeebled  utterance,  as  he  said  over  and 
over  "a  hard  winter — a  hard  winter";  and  the  officers  who 
were  gathered  about  him  in  the  ward-room  felt  an  emotion 
which  most  of  them  were  at  little  pains  to  conceal.  The 
first  sign  of  the  relief  expedition  which  had  reached  the  camp 
was  the  sound  from  the  steam  whistle  of  the  Thetis^  re- 
calling the  shore  parties  at  Payer  Harbor.  Lieutenant 
Greely,  lying  on  the  ground  in  his  tent,  had  heard  it,  as 
it  was  borne  faintly  over  the  neck  of  land,  but  the  others 
had  not  noticed  it  in  the  roaring  wind,  and  when  he  told 
them  he  had  heard  a  steamer's  whistle,  they  thought  it  only 
the  impression  of  his  disturbed  imagination.  Long  crawled 
out  of  the  tent  and  bracing  himself  against  the  wind,  strug- 
gled up  to  the  ridge ;  but  nothing  could  bo  seen  but  the  rocky 
coast,  and  the  ice-foot,  and  the  chopping  sea  with  the  pack 
stretching  off  in  the  distance.  It  was  a  bitter  disappoint- 
ment.   Long  went  back  disheartened,  but  after  waiting  un- 


i' 


( ii' 


^i  I 


i  i 


1 


11^ 


228 


27ie  Hesoue  of  Oredy. 


!    IS- 


easily  a  little  while  longer,  he  mounted  the  rid<>e  a  second 
time.  Still  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  the  same  li ope- 
less  prospect,  and  he  was  about  to  return  again  when  the 
cutter  came  into  view  around  the  point  above.  After  all 
these  months  of  waiting  it  was  hard  to  believe  that  he  was 
not  dreaming,  but  when  he  saw  the  coxswain  wave  the 
femiliar  flag,  he  knew  that  relief  had  come  at  last. 

This  was  Long's  story.  While  he  was  telling  it  the  cutter 
had  taken  on  coal  and  water,  and  supplies  for  the  starving 
men  on  shore — condensed  milk,  beef  extract,  and  stimulants. 
The  doctor  gave  Long  a  milk  punch  and  some  beef  tea,  and 
leaving  him  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Crosby,  a  party  com- 
posed of  the  Commander  of  the  Expedition,  Lieutenant 
Emory,  Ensign  "Reynolds,  Dr.  Ames,  and  several  men  from 
the  crew,  started  in  the  cutter  for  the  shore.  The  gale  had 
made  a  heavy  sea,  and  although  the  shore  was  not  far  off, 
everybody  was  wet  through  before  reaching  it.  As  the  cut- 
ter approached  the  ice-foot  Norman  was  seen  on  shore.  Fol- 
lowing his  indications  the  party  landed  at  the  deep  cove  filled 
with  ice  to  the  westward  of  the  camp,  and  from  here  they 
huVried  up  the  ridge  to  the  tent. 

As  soon  as  the  first  greetings  were  over,  prepai-ations  were 
at  once  made  to  apply  restoratives  to  the  weakest  of  the  sur- 
vivors, and  to  give  them  suitable  food.  Soon  after,  the  Thetis 
came  in  sight,  and  signal  was  made  to  her  to  send  her  sur- 
geon, with  stretchers  and  more  men.  In  reply  to  this  signal. 
Lieutenant  Usher  and  Ensign  Harlow,  Chief-Engineer  Mel- 
ville, and  Dr.  Green,  with  a  party  of  seamen,  came  ashore 
from  the  Thetis,  and  joined  the  others  at  work  around  the 
tent.  The  doctors,  with  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  officers 
and  men,  kindled  a  fire  near  the  tent,  under  the  lee  of  a 


I  \ 


ri 


( 


J 


^i 


J 


i\  i 


,, 


i[ 


i- 

i: 

llie  Hescue. 


229 


rock,  using  cliarrcd  bits  of  wood  tliat  wore  lying  about,  the 
remains  of  former  fires.  Over  this,  and  over  an  alcohol 
stove  which  had  been  brought  ashore,  milk  punch  and  beef 
extract  were  warmed,  and  given  every  ten  minutes  or  so, 
for  tlio  next  two  hours,  to  the  invalids  who  were  lying  in 
and  about  the  tent. 

Gradually,  all  the  survivors  were  restored,  though  they 
remained  still  in  a  d^zed  condition.  Before  the  rescue,  all 
seemed  to  have  given  up  hope.  They  had  ceased  to  think 
much  about  anything,  or  even  to  feel  much.  Tlie  craving 
for  food  was  almost  gone,  and  it  was  not  until  they  had  had 
some  that  it  came  back,  like  a  drunkard's  craving  for  rum. 
As  soon  as  they  had  taken  a  little  food,  they  wanted  to  eat 
voraciously  anything  they  could  get.  If  they  had  had  good 
weather  they  n)ight  have  been  much  better  off,  but  the 
storm,  which  had  kept  up  for  two  days  with  incessant  fury, 
had  weakened  them,  broken  their  spirits.  They  could  not 
go  out  for  food,  for  they  wore  too  weak  to  stand  against  the 
wind ;  and  their  tent,  which  had  made  at  least  a  habitation, 
had  been  wrecked  the  day  before,  and  although  it  had  fallen 
down  almost  on  them,  they  could  not  raise  it  up.  A  little 
more  and  the  other  ])ole  would  have  gone,  leaving  them 
buiied  in  the  covering,  or  if  they  had  managed  to  crawl  out, 
without  shelter  from  the  wind. 

With  most  of  them  the  rescue  haixJly  made  a  revulsion  of 
feeling.  Except  the  commander,  they  took  it  as  a  matter  of 
course.  There  was  a  little,  a  very  little  excitement,  and 
they  were  perhaps  more  than  ordinarily  talkative,  but  in 
general  they  did  not  seem  to  rise  or  fall  much  above  or  be- 
low the  level  of  ordinary  good  Bpirite.  I'robably  of  tough 
ilbre  to  begin  with,  their  year  of  privation  and  hopelcssnesa 


!i| 


;     ) 


il 


ll    ' 


230 


The  liescue  of  Gredy, 


11 
1^ 


had  blunted  or  deadened  their  recollection  of  the  world,  as 
they  had  known  it,  and  the  feelings  to  which  the  reccllec- 
tioii  gave  rise.  In  one  thing,  however — in  their  treatment 
of  the  helpless  ones  in  their  diminished  party — they  ap 
peared  to  the  officers  of  the  relief  ships  to  have  shown 
though tfulness  and  care.  When  Fredei'icks  and  Bierderbick 
took  down  the  bottle,  it  was  to  give  the  best  part  of  the  last 
brandy  they  had  to  Connell,  of  whom  all  hope  had  been, 
given  up.  Elison  had  been  cared  for  through  seven  months, 
his  companions  keeping  him  supplied  with  food  from  their 
scanty  stores,  which  they  were  each  day  less  and  less  able  to 
replenish. 

Notwithstanding  his  interview  with  Oolwell,  Greely's  first 
question,  when  the  party  from  th-.  Bear  came  up,  was 
"  whether  they  were  not  Englishmen  ?  "  and  upon  being  told 
that  they  were  his  countrymen,  he  said,  "  I  am  so  glad  to 
Bee  you."  There  was  some  little  talk  with  him,  and  with 
the  others  of  the  party  about  their  families,  of  whom  the  re- 
lief expedition  had  happily  nothing  but  good  news  to  give  ; 
for  care  had  been  taken,  the  last  thing  before  sailing,  to  get 
word  from  the  friends  of  all  who  had  been  at  Lady  Franklin 
Bay,  and  it  had  been  learned  that  the  nearest  and  dearest 
of  all,  without  exce])tion,  wore  still  alive  and  well.  ''This 
seems  so  wonderful,"  said  Greely ;  and  when  he  was  told 
that  the  ])icturcs  of  his  wife  and  children  were  on  board  the 
ThetJs,  he  added,  "  It  is  so  kind  and  thoughtful." 

All  the  survivors  were  eager  to  leave  the  place  which  had 
been  their  refuge  for  the  })ast  eight  months.     When  Long 
had  (Mice  got  oil'  to  tiie  shij),  although  he  had  left  the  tent 
expecting  to  return,  he  had  no  wisii  to  go  back,  oven  for  a 
moment.     The  only  fooling  among  them  all  was  a  desire  to 


luid 


The  Rescue. 


231 


get  away  from  the  scene  of  their  sufferings ;  and  when  in 
answer  to  their  questions,  they  were  told  that  the  surgeon 
must  decide  when  they  could  be  moved,  Greely  said  plain- 
tively :  "It  seems  so  long  to  wait/' 

Wiiile  tlie  doctors  were  applying  restoratives  and  prepar- 
ing the  sick  men  for  transfer  to  the  ships,  a  look  was  taken 
at  the  camp  and  its  surroundings.  The  plain  or  level  space 
in  which  lay  Camp  Clay,  as  it  had  been  named  by  Greely, 
wiis  about  two  hundred  yards  long,  running  east  and  west, 
and  extended  back  to  the  southward  perhaps  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  from  the  shore,  but  separated  from  it  by  the 
ridge  on  which  Long  had  first  been  seen.  On  the  land  side 
it  was  shut  off  by  the  chain  of  rocky,  snow-covered  hills, 
divid'»d  by  ravines  tilled  with  glaciers.  Near  the  western 
end,  where  the  cove  made  in,  was  the  hut  in  which  the 
party  had  lived  during  the  winter,  and  from  which  they  had 
moved  only  a  month  bef  >re.  The  walls  of  the  hnt  were 
made  of  loose  rocks  filled  in  with  moss.  They  were  threj 
feet  thick  and  very  solid,  and  the  labor  of  building  them 
must  have  cost  no  slight  effort.  The  hut  was  twenty-fivo 
feet  long  and  seventeen  feet  wide,  and  barely  held  the  whole 
pnrty.  It  was  four  feet  high,  and  had  been  roofed  in  with 
the  canvas  that  had  been  saved  from  the  Proteus,  stretched 
over  a  whale-boat,  which  had  been  turned  bottom  up  and 
placed  on  the  walls  as  a  ridge-polo.  This  was  the  boat 
which  Beebo  had  left  at  the  (^ape  in  18S2,  and  which,  when 
Greely  arrived,  was  sound  excei)t  for  a  little  hole  which  had 
been  covered  by  a  patch  of  load.  The  hut  was  placed  in 
a  hollow  not  far  fi-om  the  ice  foot,  and  in  May  the  occupanta 
(there  were  seventeen  still  living)  were  driven  from  it  by  tho 
water  from  tho  molting  snow  and  ice,  and  moved  to  tho 


I  ''I 


L!l 


'    'J 

•I 


!   , 


;  t. 


'.] 


m 


232 


The  Re^sGue  of  Greely. 


Ill 


'1 


!-( 


L::|Jl 


*S   %      I 


'  9  I 


tent,  which  was  pitched  on  higher  ground,  one  hinulied  and 
fifty  yards  away.  After  the  hnt  was  deserted,  the  boat  had 
been  taken  down  and  broken  up  for  fuel,  and  nothing  was 
left  of  it  but  the  fragments  of  its  bow. 

Fifty  yards  beyond  the  tent,  on  a  slope  that  formed  the 
eastern  side  of  the  plain,  were  the  graves  where  ten  of  the 
party  were  buried — the  two  Lieutenants,  Kislingbury  and 
Lockwood,  the  Eskimo  Christiansen,  and  seven  others, 
Cross,  Linn,  Jewell,  Ellis,  Ralston,  Whisler,  and  Israel. 
The  grave  of  Sergeant  Cross,  who  was  the  first  to  die,  was 
marked  by  a  row  of  stones  surrounding  it,  and  the  noxt 
two  or  three  also  showed  signs  of  having  been  made  with 
care.  But  after  these,  the  survivors  growiag  fewer  and 
weaker,  the  later  graves  showed  less  and  less  of  preparation, 
until  at  the  end  thore  was  little  done  besides  placing  on  the 
body  a  thin  covering  of  the  gravelly  dust  that  formed  tlie 
only  soil  about  the  place ;  and  from  one  or  two  a  hand  or 
foot  protruded. 

It  is  not  easy  to  give  an  idea  of  the  desolate  and  horrible 
aspect  of  this  bleak  and  barren  spot,  as  it  looked  to  those 
who  reached  it  on  that  memorable  Sunday  in  June,  1884. 
In  front  lay  the  sea  with  its  ice-pack  stretching  away  to  the 
northward,  and  at  the  back  the  glaciers  and  rocky  preci- 
pices of  the  mountains.  On  one  side  was  tlie  slope  with  its 
rude  graves,  and  on  the  other  the  deserted  and  roofless  hut, 
with  the  ice-foot  below  it ;  while  between  them  was  the 
wrecked  tent,  in  which  lay  the  remnant  of  the  expedition, 
halt'  dead  with  cold,  and  hunger,  and  distress.  Everywhere 
was  the  barren  rock,  except  Nvhero  the  snow  still  lay  deep  in 
the  hollowfl.  There  was  no  soil,  except  the  sandy  disinte- 
gration of  the  rocka  thcmselvos,  u,ad  but  little  of  that.    On 


*  i 


The  Rescue, 


233 


tbe  southern  slopes,  here  and  there,  were  little  patches  of 
flowering  moss,  the  only  vegetation  that  could  find  support 
in  this  Arctic  wilderness.  At  the  foot  of  the  ridge  that 
faced  the  shore  lay  the  body  of  Schneider,  who  had  died 
four  days  before,  and  whom  the  others  had  been  too  weai? 
to  bory.  Everywhere,  around  the  hut  and  around  the  tent, 
were  scattered  broken  cans,  rude  cooking  utensils,  and  tat- 
tered clothing. 

It  was  determined  soon  after  the  camp  was  reached,  that 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  should  be  brought  back  with  the  liv- 
ing to  the  United  States.  Greely  remonstrated  at  this  de- 
cision, and  spoke  of  the  desire  of  bis  men  to  lie  where  they 
had  died,  or,  as  he  said  of  one  of  them,  "  in  the  ground 
consecrated  by  his  great  achievements."  However  reason- 
able might  be  this  sentiment,  it  was  felt  that  the  friends  of 
the  dead  would  have  wishes  which  deserved  at  least  equal 
consideration,  and  the  pains  and  expense  which  the  Govern- 
ment had  willingly  borne  to  bring  from  Siberia  the  bodies 
of  De  Long  and  his  companions  made  it  clear  that  the  relief 
expedition  would  fail  in  its  duty  if  it  left  these  other  ex- 
plorers in  their  rude  graves  at  Capo  Sabine. 

As  soon  as  the  surgeons  had  reported  that  the  survivors 
were  sufficiently  restored  to  make  it  safe  to  remove  them, 
they  were  taken  to  the  ships.  Five  of  them,  Lieutenant 
Greely,  Sergeants  Brainard  and  Elison,  and  Bierderbick  and 
Connell,  were  placed  upon  stretchers  and  carried  down  to 
the  ice  foot  of  the  cove,  where  they  were  put  in  their  sleep- 
ing-bags on  board  the  boats.  Fredericks  insisted  that  ho 
was  eti'ong  enough  to  walk,  but  such  strength  as  he  coul<l 
put  forth  was  largely  duo  to  excitement,  and  it  was  found 
that  ho  needed  the  help  of  two  strong  seamen  to  support 


ti 


■ ..  'i  \ 


■J 


m 


i# 


«V 


234 


T/ie  Rescue  of  Greely. 


him  on  the  way  down.  Leaning  on  their  shoulders,  he  fol- 
lowed the  slow  procession  as  it  wound  its  way  around  the 
rocks  and  through  the  snow-filled  hollows  to  the  sea. 

The  gale  had  now  increased  almost  to  a  hurricane,  so  that 
work  with  boats  was  full  of  danger  even  in  crossing  the 
short  distal  ^e  of  a  huadred  yards  or  so  to  the  ships.  Sev- 
eral times  \ .  e-vi  broke  over  the  gunwales  of  the  boats  and 
nearly  filled  ;  -.m.  Tlie  survivors  were  got  on  board  safely, 
but  with  difficulty, —  Lieutenant  Greely,  with  Brainard, 
Bierderbick,  and  Connell,  in  the  Thetis  j  and  Long,  Freder- 
icks, and  Elison  in  the  Bear.  No  amount  of  care  could  }>re- 
vent  their  having  a  severe  wetting,  but  fortunately  it  did 
them  no  harm.  They  were  saved,  and  had  left  behind  them 
Camp  Clay  and  its  horrors.  Greely  fainted  after  being 
taken  below,  but  he  was  shortly  revived  by  spirits  of  am- 
monia. His  clothes  were  carefully  cut  off  and  heavy  fian- 
nels  which  had  been  warmed  were  substituted  for  them  ; 
aniJ  after  taking  a  teaspoonful  of  raw  fresh  beef  he  was  made 
as  comfortable  as  possible  in  Norman's  berth  in  the  ward- 
room. 

Meantime  Emory  was  carrying  out  the  orders  given  him 
some  time  before  to  collect  the  property  belonging  to  the 
camp  and  to  exhume  and  bring  ott*  the  bodies.  Articles  of 
all  kinds  were  scattered  about  the  tent, — clothing,  sleeping- 
bags,  note-books  and  diaries,  guns  and  ammunition,  empty 
tins,  cooking  utensils  roughly  constructed, — the  debris  of  the 
winter,  most  of  it  littl'^  bettor  than  rubbish.  Everything  of 
value  was  first  carefully  collected,  to  be  returned  to  the 
owners, — or  to  their  representatives,  for  most  of  the  owners, 
unhap])ily,  lay  on  the  ridge  across  the  hollow.  One  of  the 
seamen  found  a  pocket-book  containing  a  largo  roll  of  bunk 


i^L. 


Tlie  Rescue. 


235 


bills,  which  the  owner,  for  wliat  reason  it  is  hard  to  say,  had 
carried  with  him  to  Lady  Franklin  Bay.  Within  the  tent, 
rear  each  sleeping-bag  was  found  a  little  package  of  cher- 
ished valuables  carefully  rolled  up,  and  addressed  to  friends 
or  relatives  at  home.  It  was  not  alone  to  the  dead  that 
these  belonged ;  the  survivors,  too,  had  already  made  up 
their  little  packages. 

The  work  of  taking  up  the  bodies  was  one  of  little  diffi- 
culty. It  was  only  needed  to  remove  the  t'  a  covering  of 
sand  from  the  mounds  that  formed  the  graves.  ittle  could 
be  seen  of  the  condition  of  the  bodies,  aa  thev  had  been 
clothed,  and  all  that  appeared  was  intact.  In  preparing 
them  subsequently,  it  was  found  that  six.  those  of  Lieuten- 
ant Kislingbury,  and  of  Jewell,  Ralston,  I  .nry,  Whisler,  and 
Ellis,  had  been  cut,  and  the  flesh  removed.  Care  was  taken 
that  there  should  be  no  mistake  about  their  identity,  and  as 
each  one  was  taken  up,  it  was  given  a  number  correspond- 
ing with  a  number  on  a  drawing  made  of  the  burial-ground. 
The  names  were  afterwards  designated  by  Brainard,  who 
had  been  in  charge  of  the  burials,  so  that  the  identification 
was  complete. 

The  bodies  were  carefully  wrapped  in  blankets  and  car- 
ried from  the  graves  to  the  boats.  The  shrivelled  form  of 
poor  Schneider,  who  had  perished  only  four  days  before,  was 
brought  up  from  the  edge  of  the  cove,  where  it  lay  covered 
with  a  blanket,  and  placed  with  the  others.  It  was  hard 
work  to  bring  them  safely  off  to  the  Thetis^  which  was  to 
receive  them.  The  ships  could  only  with  difficulty  be  kept 
head  to  wind,  and  the  frequent  squalls  knocked  them  oft', 
broadside  to,  when  their  rail  would  bo  driven  almost  into 
the  water.    The  boats  in  coming  off'  were  nearly  swamped, 


\l\ 


236 


The  Eescvs  of  Greely. 


\\    ■ 


tr 


'I  I      ! 


and  several  times  they  were  in  danger  of  losing  their  freight, 
if  not  of  sinking  with  it.  As  one  of  them  came  alongsida 
the  Thetis,  two  of  the  bodies  were  carried  out  by  tlie  swash 
of  the  sea,  but  they  were  recovered  by  one  of  the  seamen 
before  they  could  sink. 

It  was  near  midnight,  and  the  last  boat  was  about  to  re- 
turn to  the  shore  for  the  few  who  had  been  left  there,  when 
Colwell  strolled  off  with  Ash,  the  ice-master,  to  take  a  look 
at  the  stone  hut.  The  same  confused  heaps  of  clothes  and 
rubbish  were  to  be  found  there  that  they  had  seen  about  the 
tent.  Among  the  clothes  Colwell  recognized  his  uniforrii 
coat,  which  had  somehow  or  other  found  its  way  ashore 
after  the  Proteus  wreck.  Looking  out  from  the  side  of 
the  hut  to  the  ice-foot,  his  attention  was  fixed  by  a  dark 
object  outlined  on  the  white  snow.  Following  a  path  which 
led  to  it  from  where  he  stood,  Colwell  found  the  mutilated 
remains  of  a  man's  body.  It  was  afterwards  identified  from 
a  bullet-hole  as  that  of  Private  Henry,  who  had  been  exe- 
cuted on  the  6th  of  June.  Wrapping  it  in  a  blanket,  Col- 
well carried  it  to  the  landing-place,  where  a  seaman  took 
the  bundle  on  his  shoulder.  Presently  the  boat  came  off, 
and  all  who  had  remained  on  shore  were  taken  on  board  the 
Bear, 

The  ships  now  steamed  back  to  Payer  Harbor,  where  they 
lay  until  the  next  morning  to  give  the  men  a  little  rest  after 
the  labor  and  excitement  of  the  past  fifteen  hours.  At 
eleven  o'clock  on  the  forenoon  of  the  23d,  Lieutenant  Em- 
ory was  directed  to  return  with  the  Bear  to  the  wreck  camp. 
Sebree,  Melville,  and  a  number  of  men  from  the  Thetis 
were  detailed  to  go  with  him,  to  make  another  search,  more 
extended  than  that  of  the  day  before,  and  to  include  the 


The  Rescue. 


237 


'"I 


m 


coast  from  the  ice  limit,  half  a  mile  west  of  the  camp,  up  to 
Cape  Sabine.  Two  parties  were  landed,  in  charge  of  Sebree 
and  Crosby.  The  search  lasted  several  hoin-s,  and  added 
nothing  of  importance  to  that  already  made,  but  everything 
was  brought  off",  no  matter  how  valueless  or  insignificant. 
During  \k\Q  Bear's  absence  the  tin  boxes  containing  Greely's 
scientific  records  and  tlie  standard  pendulum  with  its  long 
narrow  case,  which  had  been  set  v^  on  end  in  the  cairn, 
were  brought  to  the  Thetis  from  Stalknecht  Island,  where 
Harlow  had  discovered  them. 

At  5  P.M.  \hQBear  returned  to  Payer  Harbor.  The  wind 
had  meantime  slackened,  and  the  ice  in  Kane  Sea  was  niov- 
ing  rapidly  to  the  southward,  so  that  as  tlie  Bear  came 
steaming  along  it  closed  up  just  astern  of  her  the  narrow 
passage  through  which  the  vessels  had  passed  and  repassed 
around  Cape  Sabine,  and  which  had  only  opened  at  their 
arrival.  So  closely  was  the  Bear  followed  by  the  incoming 
pack  that  she  barely  escaped  the  crush  of  ice  off  the  Cape. 


i  \ 


Jl! 


I    i] 


f4 


^.i| 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CAPE  SABINE  TO  DISKO. 


At  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  June  23d,  tlie  work  of 
the  relief  squadron  having  been  accomplished,  and  all  that 
•was  left  of  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition  having  been 
found  and  taken  on  board,  the  Thetis  and  the  Bear,  driven 
out  by  the  ice,  left  Payer  Harbor  and  started  on  their  return 
voyage.  It  was  perhaps  with  some  little  feeling  of  regret 
that  there  was  not  an  opportunity  even  to  attempt  the  pas- 
sage of  Kane  Sea  and  Kennedy  Channel :  for  there  is 
always  the  enticing  possibility  of  success,  and  it  does  not 
often  happen  that  an  Arctic  expedition  finds  itself  so  well 
equipped,  and  certainly  none  had  ever  been  so  far  north  as 
Cape  Sabine  by  the  23d  of  June,  on  its  first  season.  The 
best  i^rospect  of  success  in  reaching  a  verj'  high  latitude,  apart 
from  the  chance  of  just  happening  upon  an  exceptional  and 
extraordinary  condition  of  the  ice  and  water,  is  to  be  found 
in  going  up  early  and  watchitig  for  an  opportunity  to  make 
a  dash  in  the  first  summer.  If  the  conditions  for  advance, 
either  by  ice  or  by  water,  are  highly  unfavorable,  it  would 
seem  to  be  better  to  return  to  the  south  and  try  another  sea- 
son, rather  than  make  the  attempt  with  a  crew  exhausted 
by  an  Arctic  winter. 

The  ships  reached  Littleton  Island  at  8  p.m.,  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  Bear  five  of  the  bodie-;  of  the  dead  explorers, 
in  addition  to  the  one — that  of  Henry — already  on  board  of 
that  vessel,  with  instructions  to  prepare  them  for  transporta- 
(288) 


1  r ;. 


Cape  Sabine  to  Disko. 


239 


tion  in  alcohol.  These  preparations  were  made  on  board 
the  Thetis  by  Dr.  Green,  Chief-Engineer  Melville,  and 
Ensign  Harlow,  and  on  board  the  Bear  by  Dr.  Ames,  Lieu- 
tenant Crosby,  and  Lieutenant  Colwell.  The  work  was  done 
on  the  forecastle,  across  which  a  sail  was  rigged  as  a  cur- 
tain. During  the  process  of  preparing  the  bodies,  they 
were  examined  and  fully  identitied.  Some  of  the  dead 
could  be  recognized  by  the  aid  of  the  })hotograph  of  the 
Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition,  which  had  been  taken  before 
they  started,  a  copy  of  which  was  on  board  the  Bear.  The 
others  were  known  by  some  characteristic  mark  or  peculi- 
arity, so  that  the  identification  in  the  case  of  all  of  them 
became  a  matter  of  absolute  certainty. 

Of  the  surviving  members  of  the  expedition,  the  three 
who  were  in  the  best  condition — Brainard,  Fredeiicks,  and 
Long — began  already  to  show  signs  of  improvement,  and  it 
was  clear  that  their  recovery  was  only  a  question  of  tinje, 
and  a  short  time  at  that.  Of  the  others,  the  hospital  stew- 
ard, Bierderbick,  was  also  doing  well,  though  suffering  fn>m 
rheumatism.  With  Lieutenant  Greely  and  Private  Conncll 
the  effect  of  exposure  and  suffering  had  gone  so  fiir  that  f«)r 
some  time  their  lives  were  trembling  in  the  balance,  and 
they  were  only  brought  around  by  the  skill  and  close  watch- 
fulness of  the  surgeons.  For  poor  Elison  the  medical 
officers  had  grave  apprehensions.  As  soon  as  he  had  health- 
ful food,  the  circulation  of  blood  would  give  new  life  to  the 
injured  parts,  and  inflammation  would  doubtless  set  in.  If 
his  strength  could  first  be  re-established,  amputation  niight 
save  his  life;  but  it  was  feared  from  the  first  that  his 
chances  were  slight. 

At  Littleton   Island,  where  the  ships  passed  the  night, 


[:: 


n 

\  1 

■I  1 


l^. 


[ 


;(' 


9    .  ,' 


240 


77ie  Rescue  of  Greely. 


game  wai=.  abiindant  and  the  shooting  fine.  If  it  had  been 
necessary  thousands  of  eider  ducks  and  brant  geese  could 
have  been  secured.  The  former,  when  dressed  for  the  table, 
weighs  about  five  pounds,  and  the  latter  about  six  or  seven. 
As  the  birds  in  the  high  latitudes  are  covered  witli  a  down 
which  is  tedious  to  pluck,  and  the  skin  has  a  fishy  taste, 
they  are  ffonenillv  skinned.  Nothing  can  be  found  in  these 
re/rions  more  delicious  to  the  taste  than  the  plump  breasta 
of  these  birds.  McGary  Island  appears  to  be  the  haunt 
most  preferred  by  them ;  thousands  of  them  congregate  on 
its  suimy  southern  side,  where  tlieii*  nests  are  made  from 
down  picked  from  tlieir  own  breasts.  The  eggs  of  the  duck 
are  about  as  large  as  those  of  the  Muscovy  duck,  and  make 
excellent  omelets.  The  shell  is  bluish,  mottled  with  dark 
brown  spots,  and  thicker  and  stronger  than  that  of  the  do- 
nestic  duck. 

As  the  season  is  short,  the  operation  of  hatcliing  is  quickly 
finished ;  the  ducklings  as  soon  as  they  break  from  the  shell 
t.tke  to  the  water,  and  with  their  mothers  begin  to  ])ad(lle 
Bouth  M'ith  increasing  speed  as  they  grow  stronger.  Tho 
same  migratory  instinct  is  found  in  all  the  birds  hatched  iu 
these  latitudes. 

Tho  fresh  beef  remaining  on  board  from  the  supply  re- 
ceived at  St.  John's  was  reserved  for  the  invalids,  but  the 
quantity  was  not  large,  and  as  the  rapidity  of  their  recovery 
dei)eiided  somewhat  ii])on  the  amount  of  fresh  food  that 
could  be  given  them,  the  opportunity  was  taken  to  shoot 
enough  game  to  last  until  the  ships  could  reach  the  sett'e- 
meiits  on  the  (iroenland  coast.  (tIuus  and  ammunition  were 
served  out  to  nil  who  cared  for  the  sport,  and  during  tho 
whole  nigiit  the  reports  could  be  heard  among  the  hills 


T  « 


Cape  Sabine  to  DisTco. 


241 


lad  been 
Be  could 
ho  table, 
Dr  seven. 
1  a  down 
hy  taste, 
in  these 
)  breasts 
e  haunt 
epate  on 
de  from 
;he  duck 
id  make 
ith  dark 
'  the  do- 
quickly 
he  shell 
])ad(lle 
.     The 
ciied  iu 

ply  re- 
but the 
ecovery 
0(1  that 
shoot 

sett'e- 
ori  wore 
uv*  the 
10  hilis 


0 


of  the  islands.  Tt  was  a  continuous  fusillade.  Great  num- 
bers of  birds  were  bagged  and  scores  of  eggs  were  l)rouglit 
in.  Tlie  shooting  was  somewhat  promiscuous,  and  was  some- 
times carried  on  without  mucli  regard  to  otlier  sportsmen  in 
the  line  of  shot,  but  fortunately  no  accident  occurred.  The 
amount  of  ammunition  expended  M'^as  nearly  equal  in  weight 
to  the  game  taken.  It  was  amusing  to  watch  the  suri)riso 
of  the  sailors  when  they  missed  easy  shots.  Some  of  them 
would  make  an  examiiiatiiju  of  the  gun,  as  if  it  was  respon- 
siltle  for  the  failure.  Others  were  confident  tliat  the  duck 
had  carried  away  the  entire  load  in  his  back.  Tiie  sport 
was  thoroughly  enjoyed  all  the  same,  and  though  many  of 
the  amateur  sportsmen  came  back  empty-handed,  the  two 
ships  wore  supplied  with  all  the  game  that  they  could  use. 
The  Bear  had  four  hundred  ducks  hani^iuif  that  niorninn:  in 
the  rigging. 

The  ships  left  Littleton  Island  at  0.30  a.m.  on  Juno  24th, 
after  depositing  a  record  for  the  ^^^^^"^  in  the  Naros  cairn,  an- 
nouncing the  result  of  the  expedition,  and  directing  hor  to 
return  to  Upcrnivik  or  Disko,  where  the  other  vessels  would 
await  her.  Tiie  Thetin  got  under  way  iirst,  having  been 
moored  to  a  borg.  While  the  Jicar  was  getting  up  iier 
anchor,  an  oomiak  and  a  kayak  came  ahmgside,  filled  with  na- 
tives. The  oomiak  is  an  open  flat-bottomed  boat,  made  of 
skins,  and  large  enough  to  hold  several  persons,  while  the 
kayak  is  a  canoe  only  largo  enough  for  one  man.  Tho 
oomiak  was  pulled  by  seven  Eskimo,  men  and  women.  One 
of  the  women  was  tattooet".,  which  showed  that  she  canio 
from  tho  western  side  of  tho  Bay,  probably  from  tho  neigh- 
borhood of  I'oTurH  Inlet.  Some  of  tho  (>thor8  may  have  bo- 
longed  to  Etah.  They  had  seen  the  ships  when  tho  latter 
16 


M 


>    I 


ill' 


i 


^JSmi 


;i    ! 


242 


The  Itescue  of  Greely. 


i    ':    I 


,  I 


.     I 


came  up  two  days  before,  but  had  been  unable  to  reach  them 
on  account  of  the  gale. 

'J'he  women  of  the  party  were  fine-lookin"^  and  well 
-dressed,  and  aa  UFiual  bronght  off  a  number  of  walrus  teetli 
and  uai'wlial  horns  to  exchange  for  provisions.  As  the 
spring  advances  and  the  ice  clears  out,  the  E-kiiuo  are  (;bliged 
to  move  north  to  follow  the  seal  and  walrus  and  to  obtain 
birds  and  eggs  on  the  breeding  grounds  about  Cape  Oldsen 
and  Littleton  Island.  Tiiis  appears  to  be  the  northern 
limit  of  the  migrations  of  the  natives.  Mere  they  take  the 
birds  in  great  numbers,  and  tliese,  witli  seal  and  walrus 
meat,  constitute  tlieir  winder  fare.  Undoubtedly  these  peo- 
ple had  been  about  Littleton  Island  for  months,  and  the  Etah 
Eskimo  had  been  there  during  tlie  wliole  of  the  past  winter. 

An  open  season  in  the  Arctic,  though  coveted  by  the  ex- 
plorer, is  always  dreaded  by  the  Eskimo.  It  incrca-ies  the 
difficnlty  of  capturing  seals  and  walru'^,  and  often  ol)Hge8 
them  to  go  to  great  distances  to  ])r{)cure  tlie  meat  and  oil 
needed  for  their  long  winters.  Cold  weatlier  and  expoir^nre 
seem  to  liave  no  terrors  for  th.em,  but  when  the  temperature 
rises  above  the  freezing  point  they  suffer  with  lieat. 

Leaving  Littleton  Isinnd,tlie  T/ietis  and  Bear  sieamed  to 
the  entrance  of  Foulke  Fiord,  which  was  frozen  solid.  Here 
they  remained  until  driven  soutlnvard  by  the  oe  floes  mov- 
ing down  Smith  Soimd  from  Kane  Sea.  'i1ie  Bm7'  was 
directed  in  case  of  separation  to  rendezvous  at  Upernivik. 
On  the  way  to  Northumberland  Island  the  same  enormous 
icebergs,  in  groat  numbers,  M'ere  found  as  on  the  way  up, 
mile  upon  mile  of  them  lying  closely  together.  The  ehne 
pack  was  mot  agai!»  lato  in  Iho  evening,  and  towards  r>)id- 
night  the    'Jlictis  anchored  to  a  doo  near  llakhiyt  Ibluiid. 


»fi.. 


'H 


(Jape  Scibine  to  Disko. 


243 


each  them 

and    well 
ilrus  teeth 
.     As  the 
ire  (;bH<^ed 
1  to  obtain 
.pe  O  hi  sen 
!   northern 
!j  take  the 
nd  walrus 
these  peo- 
id  the  Etah 
ast  winter, 
by  the  ex- 
qrca-^cs  the 
en  (»l)lii];o9 
at  and  oil 
1  exposure 
inperatiiro 
It. 

ftieanied  to 
lid.  Hero 
(Iocs  niov- 
Bca7'  was 
j)ernivilc. 
enormous 
e  way  np, 
The  cUxe 
vards  nnd« 
iivt  Island. 


The  Bear  was  caught  in  the  pack  in  mid-ehannel,  and  after 
drifting  with  it  for  a  time,  at  half-past  two  in  the  morning 
she  worked  in  and  made  fast  by  the  Thetis. 

Early  on  the  25th  the  ice  opened  in  small  leads  and  tlie 
ships  worked  around  to  the  southwest  side  of  Ilakhiyt  Island. 
After  another  delay  they  succeeded  during  the  afternoon  in 
ramming  their  way  past  Northumberland  Island.  No  leads 
could  be  found  to  the  soutlnvard  across  Whfde  Sound,  i.nd 
the  ships  were  moored  to  the  best  place  they  could  find  on 
the  edge  of  the  Hoe,  although  the  position  might  have  been 
unsafe  if  the  ice  had  set  in  towards  the  shore.  In  the  even- 
ing the  ice  was  h)osened  by  a  turn  of  the  tide,  and  after 
close  and  anxious  wntching,  o])en  water  was  discovered  six 
miles  away  towards  Cape  Parry.  No  time  was  to  be  lost, 
and  by  dint  of  heavy  raimning  the  barrier  was  crossed,  and 
the  ships  arrived  at  Cape  Parry  soon  after  ten  o'clock.  Lieu- 
tenatit  Lemly  visited  the  cairn  made  on  the  passage  up,  and 
left  a  new  record  for  Commander  CotRn,  bringing  oif  the 
old  re(rords. 

As  soon  as  Lomly  returned  the  expedition  started  again 
on  its  way  south,  and  steamed  through  leads  and  loose 
ice  toAvarils  Wolstenhohne  Island,  ^oon  after  midnight, 
on  the  morning  of  the  2(lth,  five  steamers  were  sighted 
ahead.  Tiio  relief  ships  came  up  with  them  at  three  o'clock, 
and  found  that  they  were  all  whalers,  of  which  three,  the 
JVannha/^  CornwaUifi,  and  Nova  Zrmhia,  wore  among  those 
left  behind  at  the  Duck  Islands,  while  the  two  others,  the 
Fs^jnimaux  and  Jan  JUaen,  had  joined  the  belated  fli^et  in 
Miilville  i'ay-  'riio  point  where  they  now  wore,  100  milos 
distant  from  (^ape  Sabinc",  was  the  most  northerly  that  they 
had  attained,  and   thev  liad  .eached  it  six  davs  after  the 


!      «l 


n 


I,! 


'.( 


>     'I 


I     'I 


244 


The  liescue  of  Greely. 


!;> 


li'    '\ 


I   I 


Thetis.  The  Esquimaux^  which  had  left  ITpernivIk  on  tlie 
11  til,  thirteen  days  after  tlie  relief  ships,  brought  letters  from 
Ensign  Chambers  on  board  tiie  Loch  Garry.  At  the  date 
of  writing  lie  was  still  waitin.^  for  tlie  Ale)i.  The  relief 
ships  received  letters  from  tlie  whalers,  to  be  mailed  on  ar- 
rival at  St.  John's. 

The  news  of  the  rescue  was  given  to  the  whalers,  so  that 
they  should  not  be  tempted  farther  north,  and  the  officers 
of  the  relief  !?hips  bade  them  a  fuial  good-bye.  The  Dnndee 
sailors  were  parted  from  with  regret.  They  had  shown  a 
cordial  and  friendly  spirit  in  their  rivalry  on  the  common 
errand,  and  they  had  generouslj^  given  such  aid  as  they  could 
to  the  relief  expedition  on  the  way  up.  Had  an  accid'^Mit  be- 
fallen the  expedition  some  of  them  would  doubtless  have 
made  their  way  to  Capo  Sabine,  although  too  late  to  liave 
rescued  all  of  those  who  still  survived  on  the  Sunday  when 
the  Thetis  and  the  Bear  crossed  over  to  the  ( 'jipe. 

On  the  forenoon  of  June  Sfith,  both  ships  were  anchored  to 
a  sheet  of  ice  near  Sauiuh"*-!  rsland.  The  Triune  and 
Polynia.,  the  last  vfthe  Dn;!  *•";  fleet,  were  sighted  near  the 
Islaiul.  The  relief  ships  remained  here  all  day,  as  the  wind 
blew  strong  from  the  north,  and  the  l)arom(!tor  had  fal' jn  to 
29. 1().  Nothing  was  now  to  be  gained  by  hurrying,  and  it 
was  the  best  plan  to  keep  a  secure  position  as  long  as  the 
indications  of  bad  weather  lasted. 

As  the  whalers  had  been  at  SaundiTs  Island  they  had 
doubtless  supplied  the  natives  with  everything  that  the 
latter  needed,  so  that  only  a  few  came  off  with  their  sleds  to 
tho  jhips  on  the  second  visit.  One  of  the  dog  tiMims  con- 
tained several  lire  animals  wliich  the  ollicors  wanted,  and 
trading  was  actively  begun,  various  tniall  articles  being  used 


■■^ifX: 


Ik  on  tlie 
ter8  from 
the  data 
'he  reliei 
ed  on  ar- 

s,  so  that 
le  officers 
e  Dnndee 
shown  a 
!  common 
hev  could 
cid'Mit  be- 
tloss  have 
te  to  liave 
day  when 

ichored  to 
^une  and 
near  the 
the  wind 
till'' J n  to 
nu;,  and  it 
inji,'  as  the 

I  hey  had 
thiit  tiio 
■ir  sleds  to 
>utris  eon- 
tuted,  and 


Cape  Saline  to  Uisho. 


24i; 


*1 


for  barter.  Among  the  objects  prized  by  tlie  Eskimo 
were  needles,  food,  buttons,  M'hich  are  used  y»rincii)ally  as 
ornaments  by  the  women,  and  clothing,  which  has  a  peculiar 
value  in  that  region.  Ensign  Harlow  was  successful  in  mak- 
ing a  trade  and  secured  a  fine-looking,  handsomely  marked 
animal,  which  had,  however,  an  unusnally  surly  difposition. 
He  refused  to  associate  with  the  other  dogs,  or  to  ])artake  of 
the  same  food.  While  all  the  others  were  skylarking  about 
the  decks  or  on  the  ice,  the  new  dog  was  content  to  mope 
about  the  rigging  near  the  mainmast,  where  he  would  snarl 
at  every  kindly  interference.  He  seemed  to  be  afraid  to  eat, 
and  he  never  dared  to  bite.  An  Eskimo  dog  with  no  ap- 
petite and  no  bite  in  him  was  so  much  of  a  curiosity  in  those 
regions,  where  everything  is  hungry  and  where  everything 
will  bite,  that  all  understanding  of  his  nature  was  baffled. 
Harlow  strove  hard  to  make  him  take  to  the  other  dogs,  but 
in  vain.  Only  upon  one  occasion  did  he  come  out  of  his  tor- 
por, and  that  was  fatal  to  iiim.  He  attempted  to  walk  on  the 
main  rail  aniidshi[)S,  but  fell  overboard  and  was  drowned. 

Notwithstanding  the  barometer,  the  weather  continued 
finf?,  and  in  the  evening  an  advance  was  made  towards 
Conical  Rock.  The  ice  was  loose  but  heiivy^  and  towards 
midnight  a  shift  of  wind  to  the  southwest  ])acked  it  tightly, 
and  both  ships  were  anchored  to  icebergs.  While  tlie  Thetin 
was  being  secured  in  a  strong  tideway,  she  came  into  colli- 
sion with  a  berg,  carrying  away  her  Ik  ;ul-booms.  Two  or 
three  hours  later  the  oerg  to  which  she  was  moored  pivoted 
arouiul,  exposing  the  ship  to  the  heavy  Hoes  that  were  driven 
by  the  wind  a!ul  tide  up  lower  Smith  Sound.  As  the  Bear'n 
anclionigo  appeared  steadier,  the  Thetis  steamed  over  awd 
sent  her  a  lino  to  hold  ou  by ;  but  the  fres.  euing  wind  soon 


I' 


I    :i 


■  It 


! 


I) 


(A 


;n 


'i 


i 


^h-' 


■l  ^1 


■ 

1 1 


I   I 


246 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


slipped  the  Bear's  ice  ancliors,  and  the  fthips  tlien  steamed 
into  the  soft  floe  ice,  where  thej  remained  during  the  rest  of 
the  night. 

.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th  a  lead  opened  towards 
Conical  Hock.  While  the  ships  were  steaming  through  it, 
Ilann,  the  Eskimo  dog-driver  of  the  Bear^  jumped  over  the 
rail,  and  starting  at  a  run  over  the  ice  floea,  made  for  the 
shore  two  miles^i  away  at  the  Petowik  Glacier.  It  M'as  after- 
wards found  that  his  mind  was  disordered.  The  ship  fol- 
lowed-in  among  the  leads  to  head  him  off,  and  at  a  favor- 
able momeno  two  of  the  seamen  went  after  him.  After  an 
exciting  chase  of  half  an  hour  he  was  caj)tured  and  brought 
back  to  the  ship.  During  the  chase  one  of  the  men  fell 
thrciigh  the  ice,  and  got  a  ducking,  but  his  companion 
managed  to  haul  him  out. 

Sliortlv  after  this  adventure.,  the  ships  reached  Conical 
Rock,  where  they  were  secured  to  grounded  icebergs,  and  a 
record  w«>s  left  for  Commander  Cothn  in  the  cairn  built  on 
the  way  north.  After  a  two  hours'  delay,  they  were  again 
mider  way,  forcing  a  passage  by  ramming  through  heavy 
bars,  and  in  and  out  of  tortuous  loads,  until  they  were 
nearly  abreast  of  Cape  York,  when  a  dense  fog  set  in,  witli 
enow.  Tiie  ice-pack  off  Cape  York  compelled  a  detour  to 
the  vestward  of  eigliteeu  miles,  after  which  the  ships 
slowiy  and  widi  difticulty  worked  their  way  back  into  ojx'u 
water  near  the  l-Juslman  Islands,  east  of  Cape  York.  It  was 
next  to  iniposbiijie  to  disthiguish  leads  in  the  fog  and  driving 
snow,  aixi  at  one  time  the  Tlieth  came  up  against  the  land 
ice  in  a  b'l^djt,  and  butting  it  at  full  speed  ran  up  half  a 
liMJgth  on  tne  ice.  It  became  a{)parent  that  nothing  was  to 
bo  gained  by  Lurrying  under  such  circumstances,  and  the 


'€  ■-  I'i 


1  steamed 
he  rest  of 

[  towards 
1  rough  it, 
I  over  the 
e  for  the 
was  aftcr- 
3  ship  fol- 
t  a  favor- 
After  ail 
d  brought 
men  fell 
ompanion 

d  Conical 

rgs,  and  a 

1  built  on 

ere  again 

^h  heavy 

ley  were 

t  in,  with 

detour  to 

he   ships 

into  open 

It  was 

id  driving 

the  land 

11 1»  half  a 

111:;  was  to 

,  aud  thu 


't-i 


llllii.lr.' 


I 


'Mm  \\'"' " 


'''''^'i'Hi;iii:ir"ii 


l{   !i{ 


iiN 


WW' 


1. 1 


m^' 


m 


I]  I 


!ii|:i:i'''BiJ|jll!i 


1!JI;'     'i!jl 


lil'l!i|i|!i!!!|l!  IP!:I!!! 


"liiiii 


!niiii::!l::.ai:;.:;:i:illfljii|!.  V^hlil.lllili 


^■4 


if 


ii 


• 


Cape  Sabine  to  Disko. 


247 


fillips  were  tliereforo  ancliored  to  the  land  ice,  to  wait  for 
clcjirinc:  vvoathor. 

Diiriiiij:  the  niii;lit  of  June  27th,  the  wind  thom?])  very  lio-lit 
haided  to  the  eastward,  and  by  tlie  morning  of  the  28th  it 
liad  cU-ared  snfficiently  to  show  open  water  near  tiie 
grounded  McCIintoek  icebergs,  thirty  miles  to  the  southeast 
of  (.\ipe  York.  For  four  hours,  the  sliips  were  able  to  make 
good  progress  in  this  direction,  but  at  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  a  bar  of  ice  made  it  necessary  to  secure  them  to 
the  edge  of  the  pack  and  wait.  Here  they  remained  at 
anchor  between  two  large  bergs. 

On  this  day,  the  condition  of  Sergeant  Elison  began  to  give 
great  anxiety.  IIc^  was  delirious  most  of  the  time,  and  he 
seemed  to  be  threatened  with  congestion  of  the  brain.  Tho 
two  surgeons  were  in  frequent  consultation,  but  liis  syraj)- 
toms  grew  steadily  worse  during  the  next  week. 

The  others  were  all  on  the  mend.  Even  Lieutenant 
Greely  and  Connell,thougl»  still  very  weak,  and  with  a  mor- 
bid appetite,  had  begun  to  sleep  naturally;  their  musclea 
were  filling  out,  their  voices  were  stronger,  and  their  dis- 
turbed nerves  had  become  more  tranquil.  On  the  28th 
Greely  was  dressed  for  the  first  time  and  sat  up  for  two 
hours. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  the  ice  bar  which  had  de- 
layed the  ships  began  to  loosen,  and  they  got  under  way  and 
passed  through  it.  They  were  now  driven  eastward  under 
full  speed  in  order  to  gain  every  inch,  for  by  this  time  it 
was  evident  that  without  a  vigorous  effort,  they  might  bo 
del  aye  1  here  as  long  0!i  the  return  as  on  the  way  up.  '\\\q 
advancing  season  liel})ed  somewhat,  but  tho  lUy  was  still 
blocked  with  ice,  contrary  to  tho  usual  conditions  at  this  time 


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248 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


of  the  year,  and  bade  fair  to  remain  so  for  some  time.  During 
a  part  of  the  afternoon  the  ships  had  a  clear  open  lead,  and 
went  along  smoothly ;  but  at  other  times  it  was  necessary  to 
ram  continually  under  a  full  head  of  steam  through  the 
broad  sheets  in  order  to  pass  along  the  land  ice  frorr'  one 
water  space  to  another.  The  success  of  thus  vigorously  at- 
tacking the  pack  justified  the  effort,  for  before  midnight, 
the  expedition  had  gained  sixty  miles  to  the  eastward.  A 
linal  attempt  at  ramming  brought  the  Thetis  solidly  up 
against  the  pack  as  if  she  had  butted  a  wall,  knocking  down 
everybody  on  deck,  and  nearly  throwing  the  Captain  out  of 
the  crow's-nest.  The  ship  rebounded  twenty  feet  from  the 
shock.  After  this,  the  effort  was  abandoned  for  the  night, 
and  the  ships  were  moored  to  the  land  ice  in  a  narrow  ice 
dock  or  canal  of  open  water  left  between  the  closing  floes, 
with  the  coast  in  plain  sight  around  the  curve  of  the  Bay. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  the  30th,  the  wind 
hauling  to  the  eastward,  the  ships  were  again  under  way 
and  steamed  through  an  open  lead  for  five  or  six  miles, 
passing  many  large  icebergs.  Again  they  met  heavy  ice, 
from  three  to  five  feet  thick,  and  they  continued  ramming 
their  way  from  lead  to  lead,  through  the  waste  of  floes  and 
broken  bergs,  until  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  At  this 
point  the  Thetis  was  beset.  While  trying  to  free  herselt 
by  going  astern  to  gain  room  to  charge  the  large  floes 
ahead,  she  backed  into  a  smaller  floe  and  twisted  oflf  her 
rudder  head.  It  was  the  second  injury  to  the  rudder,  but 
it  was  temporarily  repaired  by  Lieutenant  Sebree,  and  the 
ships  continued  on  their  way.  The  Devil's  Thumb  and 
Sugar  Loaf  Mountain  were  now  in  sight,  ]>rominent  points 
on  the  Greenland  coast  to  the  north  of  the  Duck  Islands, 
and  the  work  of  crossing  Melville  Bay  was  nearly  over. 


Cajpe  Sabine  to  Disko. 


249 


sad,  and 
ssai-y  to 
iigh  the 
•oir;  one 
usly  at- 
idniglit, 
ard.     A 
[idly  up 
:ig  down 
n  out  of 
from  tlie 
e  night, 
rrow  ice 
ng  floes, 
3  Bay. 
he  wind 
der  wav 
ix  miles, 
savy  ice, 
animing 
loes  and 
At    this 
herselt 
ge  floes 
off  lier 
der,  but 
and  the 
mb  and 
t  points 
Islands, 
fvcr. 


At  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the  30th,  the  Alert 
and  Loch  Garry  wqvq  discovered  beset  in  the  ice-pack.  The 
Thetis  and  Bear  immediately  broke  their  way  through  and 
released  them.  The  last  mail  from  home  was  brouj^ht  bv^ 
the  Alert.  The  two  ships  had  left  Uperiiivik  on  the  19th  of 
June,  and  with  much  difficulty  in  passing  through  heavy 
ice,  succeeded  in  making  the  Berry  Islands,  where  all  the 
leads  closed.  Here  thoy  were  anchored  to  the  ice  to  await 
an  opening.  On  the  24tli  a  gale  sprang  up  which  made  it 
necessary  to  cut  an  ice  dock  for  the  Loch  Carry.  This  was 
done  in  the  way  suggested  by  Commander  Markham.  The 
ice  was  four  feet  thick,  and  two  hours  finished  the  work  and 
tiie  docking  of  the  ships.  Next  day  the  gale  ceased,  and  the 
ships  worked  to  the  northward,  following  the  inshore  leads 
past  Cape  Shackleton  and  the  Duck  Islands,  where  they 
were  again  stopped  by  solid  ice.  Owing  to  the  smaller 
engine  power  (;f  the  Alert,  she  was  obliged  to  keep  out  of 
the  ice  when  in  danger  of  being  beset,  or  resort  to  docks  to 
avoid  nips,  or  to  torpedoes  to  force  a  lead, — difliculties  which 
the  Thetis  and  Bear,  with  their  greater  power,  usually  over- 
came by  ramming.  Moreover,  the  Loch  Garry,  being 
nearly  helpless  in  the  ice,  was  a  constant  source  of  difficulty 
and  delay.  Frequently  the  Alert,  after  getting  successful!}'' 
through  a  lead,  was  corapelKd  to  return  and  extricate  the 
collier,  as  the  latter  was  cauglit  l>y  the  swiftly  closing  floo.s. 
During  the  20th  and  27th,  the  Alert  worked  continuously, 
day  and  night,  to  gain  only  eight  miles.  "When  found,  she 
was  off  the  Devil's  Thumb,  in  latitude  Y4:°  30'  K,  and 
witliin  the  dangerous  nivigation  of  Melville  Bay. 

The  four  vessels  now  started  on  their  way  southward,  but 
the  leads  closing  under  the  influence  of  a  flood  tide  and  a 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corpordtion 


33  WIST  MAIN  tTHIT 

WItSTIt.N.Y.  MStO 

(7I«)  •/3-4S03 


4 


260 


The  Jiescue  of  Gredy. 


Bontherly  wind,  and  a  dense  fog  setting  in,  they  were 
anchored  for  the  night  to  the  floes.  Next  day,  July  Ist,  tlio 
wind  was  still  from  the  south,  and  the  ships  got  under  way, 
the  Thetis  leading,  followed  by  the  Bear^  Alerts  and  Looh 
Garry  in  line  astern,  to  take  an  inshore  lead,  which  appeared 
to  extend  to  the  Duck  Islands.  Nutnbei*s  of  icebergs  were 
lying  in  their  way,  and  the  passage  through  the  ivje  was  diffi- 
cult and  dangerous.  At  eight  o'clock  the  Loch  Garry  stuck 
fast  in  a  floe,  and  the  Bear  went  to  her  assistance  and  got 
her  out,  after  which  the  collier  took  the  second  place  in  the 
line.  The  fog  now  settling  again,  speed  was  reduced  to  two 
knots  an  hour,  and  fog  signals  were  sounded  frequently  to 
indicate  position.  The  ships  felt  their  way  alowly  and  cau- 
tiously up  to  the  floe-edge  and  anchored. 

In  the  afternoon  the  fog  lifted  and  the  fleet  was  again 
underway,  the  Thetis  and  Bear  breaking  leads  for  the  other 
ships.  As  they  approached  the  Duck  Islands,  the  Alert  vvan 
caught  by  the  floes,  which  had  closed  up  after  the  passage  ot 
the  advance  ships,  and  the  latter  were  obliged  to  return  and 
release  her.  Moving  on  from  the  Duck  Islands,  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  the  long  detention  o\  the  Thetis  and  Bear 
on  the  way  up,  the  fleet  passed  Cape  Shackleton,  Horse 
Head,  and  Tassuisak.  There  was  plenty  of  floe  ice,  but  its 
character  had  completely  changed  in  the  past  four  weeks; 
the  floe  pieces  were  smaller  and  less  compact,  and  the  ice 
showed  none  of  its  former  hardness,  yielding  readily  to 
nmiming. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  this  day  that  Lieutenant  Greely, 
to  the  delight  of  every  one  on  board,  tirst  made  his  appear- 
ance on  the  deck  of  the  Thetis.  Tieforo  the  fog  had  set  in, 
the  day  was  clear  uud  bright,  the  sky  blue,  and  the  sua 


Cape  Saline  to  Dlsko. 


251 


Bhiniii<];.  Greely  had  waked  up  in  tlio  morning  after  a 
refre8hin^  sleep,  feeling  better  than  at  any  time  since  the 
rescue.  He  enjoyed  his  breakfast  of  oatmeal  and  broiled 
beefsteak,  and  seemed  to  have  lost  his  perpetual  craving  for 
more.  After  breakfast  he  was  helped  up  on  deck,  and  sat 
in  the  air,  well  bundled  up,  for  an  hour.  From  this  time 
on,  with  the  exce|)tion  of  one  or  two  little  set-backs,  he  was 
steadily  gaining.  He  began  to  walk  a  little  without  assist- 
ance, and  was  encouraged  to  take  such  exercise  in  the  open 
air  as  he  could  on  board  the  ship. 

By  this  time,  as  most  of  the  survivors  had  recovered  their 
strength,  the  officers  of  the  relief  ships  had  learned  the  won- 
derful story  «>f  the  expedition.  The  history  of  the  station 
at  Fort  Conger  had  been  bri«*ily  stated  in  the  record  left  on 
Brevoort  Island, — the  two  yoara  ])assed  at  Discovery  Har- 
bor, and  the  successful  work  of  exploration,  which  had 
resulted  in  the  completion  of  an  accurate  map  of  the  whole 
interior  of  (Irinnel!  Land,  and  of  a  loi  g  stretch  of  the 
north  Greenland  shore.  The  reconl  stopped  with  the  arrival 
of  the  expedition  at  Cape  Sabine,  and  the  tragic  story  of 
the  winter's  sufferings  at  Camp  Clay  could  only  be  learned 
by  the  ret'ltal  of  the  survivors  during  the  passage  across  the 
Bay.  The  brief  outline  of  it  may  be  given  here,  as  the  re- 
lief oflicors  heard  it  from  the  actors  themselves. 


M 

\ 


Soon  after  the  landing  of  the  party  from  the  ice  floe  \\i 
Baird  Inlet,  Lieutenant  Groely  sent  Sergeant  Ilico  and  Jens, 
one  of  his  Ei-kimo,  to  Capo  Sabine,  to  find  out  wliat  stores 
had  been  placed  there.  Rico  accomplished  the  journey  with 
difficulty,  although  the  distance  was  not  great,  perhaps  iif- 
toen  miles  in  u  Btraight  line ;  but  it  was  found  that  Capu 


I   .1: 


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I.  \ 

252 


T7i£  Rescue  of  Greely. 


Sabine  waa  on  an  island,  and  that  a  strait — now  called 
Eice's  Strait  from  its  discoverer — extended  from  the  head  of 
Eosse  Bay  to  Buchanan  Sound.  This  strait  was  not  yet 
frozen  over,  and  cut  Eice  off  from  the  Cape,  compelling  a 
long  detour  to  the  westward.  He  returned  on  the  0th  of 
October,  and  reported  to  Lieutenant  Greely  the  news  of  the 
wreck  of  the  Proteus,  and  the  state  of  the  three  supply 
depots  as  far  as  he  could  ascertain  it.  Eoughly  speaking, 
there  were  in  the  three  caches  1,000  rations,  or  forty  days' 
full  supply  for  the  party.  Greely  did  not  allow  himself  to 
be  discouraged  at  the  prospect,  but  determined  to  move  his 
command  m  the  neighborhood  of  the  depots,  and  the  2l8t 
of  October  found  him  established  at  Camp  Clay. 

The  hut,  which  has  been  already  described,  was  built  on 
low  ground  not  far  from  the  ice-foot,  at  a  point  sheltered 
by  the  ridges  froiTi  the  northerly  and  southerly  gales.  On 
the  ground  were  spread  clothing,  buffalo  coats,  and  sleeping- 
bags.  The  hut  was  barely  large  enough  for  the  whole  party 
to  squeeze  into  it,  when  lying  at  full  length,  and  the  air- 
space gave  an  allowance  of  only  seventy  cubic  feet  to  each 
man.     In  this  they  passed  the  winter. 

On  the  Ist  of  November,  L'.eutenant  Greely  took  an  ac- 
count of  his  stock  of  provisions,  and  it  was  determined  to 
divide  them  so  that  they  would  last  until  March  Ist,  putting 
a  little  aside  from  time  to  time,  so  that  at  the  end  they 
would  still  have  ten  days'  supplies  left  with  which  to  start 
on  the  proposed  journey  to  Littleton  Island.  It  was  in- 
tended to  make  this  journey  whenever  the  intervening 
strait  was  frozen  over.  Smith  Sound,  however,  remained 
open,  in  part  at  lea^t,  during  the  whole  winter,  and  nauo  of 
the  party  ever  crossed.    The  whale-boat  loft  by  Beebe  at 


\ 


Cape  Sab^itie  to  Disho. 


253 


)iiin^ 


the  Cape  was  used  as  the  ridge-pole  of  tlie  winter  hut,  and 
another  whale-boat,  whicli  had  been  abandoned  on  the  way 
down,  and  which  had  drifted  ashore  from  Kane  Sea,  was 
consumed  for  fuel. 

The  provisions  found  at  the  Cape  were  mostly  in  good 
condition,  except  those  in  the  Nares  cache,  which  Lieuten- 
ant Greely  stated  as  having  in  great  part  deteriorated.  The 
daily  aUowance  established  early  in  November,  by  which 
forty  days'  rations  were  to  be  made  to  last  four  months,  was 
made  up  as  follows : — 4^  ounces  of  meat  and  blubber,  6^- 
ounces  of  bread  and  dog  biscuit,  1|  ounces  of  canned  vege- 
tables and  rice,  f  of  an  ounce  of  butter  and  lard,  -^^  of  an 
out)co  of  soup  and  beef-extract,  and  1  ounce  of  berries, 
pickles,  raisins,  and  milk,  making  altogether  14.88  ounces  of 
food  a  day  for  each  man.  The  food  was  only  warmed,  as 
there  was  not  fuel  enough  to  cook  it.  The  idea  upon  which 
the  party  based  their  mode  of  life  was  to  approach  as  nearly 
as  possible  to  a  condition  of  hibernating,  and  only  the  cooks 
and  hunters  made  much  exertion.  These  received  a  double 
ration.  The  others  generally  remained  in  their  sleeping- 
bags,  and  slept  sixteen  or  eighteen  hours  out  of  the  twenty- 
four. 

Early  in  November,  a  party,  composed  of  Sergeant  Rice, 
Elisof),  Linn,  and  Fredericks,  was  sent  to  Cape  Isabella  to 
obtain  the  150  pounds  of  meat  left  there  by  Nares.  Tho 
temperature  was  now  thirty  degrees  below  zero,  and  tho 
party  was  without  shelter.  Their  suiferings  from  the  cold 
and  exposure  were  such  that  the  only  wonder  is  that  any  of 
them  returned  alive.  Struggling  on  M'ith  a  courage  and 
perseverance  that  were  nothing  less  than  heroic,  they  reached 
tho  Capo  and  secured  tho  meat ;  but  ou  tho  return  thoy  wore 


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254 


t    I 


The  JRescue  of  Greely. 


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ti  i     i  '  II 

i 


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coiiipelle(i  to  abandon  it  at  Baird  Inlet.  At  Rossc  Bay, 
ElisoM  became  heli>lesa,  bis  bands  and  feet  being  frozen. 
Rice  tben  set  out  alone  to  the  camp  to  get  assistance,  the 
others  remaininj;  with  Elison  in  bis  sleeping-bag,  and  so 
keeping  bini  alive.  Relief  parties  were  at  once  sent  out, 
and  the  sufferers  were  brought  back  to  the  hut,,  but  Elison 
lost  his  feet  and  a  part  of  his  hands.  In  this  condition  he 
remained  during  the  winter  and  spring,  cared  for  by  his 
comjmnions,  and  thus  he  was  found  when  the  party  was 
rescued. 

A  little  while  before  this.  Long,  who  was  the  best  shot  of  the 
party,  had  been  sent  with  the  two  Eskimo  to  a  point  a  little 
to  the  westward  of  the  camp,  near  Rice's  Strait,  to  look  out 
for  game.  They  took  a  tent  with  them,  and  remained  for 
several  days,  but  tliey  only  succeeded  in  catching  two  seaU. 
During  the  rest  of  the  winter,  hunting  was  impossible  on 
account  of  the  cold  ar.d  the  darkness.  A  few  foxes  were 
killed  near  the  camp,  and  in  the  spring  a  bear  was  shot 
which  yielded  perhaps  three  hundred  pounds  of  meat. 
These  with  two  or  three  score  of  dovekies, — a  bird  weighing 
about  a  pound, — were  all  the  supplies  of  game  which  c!>uld 
be  secured  at  Ca])e  Sabine. 

During  the  winter  every  one  did  his  best  to  keep  up  the 
spirits  of  the  party.  There  was  not  fuel  enough  to  make 
any  artificial  heat  in  the  hut,  and  the  temperature  was  gen- 
erally from  five  to  ten  degrees  above  zero.  In  March  the 
whole  detachment  came  very  nour  dying  from  asphyxia. 
Some  one  had  lighted  the  alcohol  stove  to  cook  a  meal,  but 
had  forgotten  to  remove  the  cU)th  that  covered  the  smoke- 
holo  in  the  loof.  The  oxygen  of  the  air  in  the  hut  was 
quickly  exhausted,  and  before  anything  could  be  done  all 


Cape  Sabine  to  Disko. 


255 


the  inmates  were  attacked  with  faint ness  and  dizziness,  and 
it  was  only  with  great  difficulty  that  they  stumbled  out  into 
the  open  air,  many  of  them  falling  unconscious  to  the  ground 
as  soon  as  tiiey  got  out,  although  the  temperature  was  40° 
below  zero.  The  after-effects  of  this  accident  were  feU  for  a 
long  time. 

During  March  another  hunting  expedition  was  undertaken 
by  Long  and  his  Eskimo,  but  without  success.  Up  to  this 
time,  wonderfully  enough,  considering  the  circumstances, 
only  one  death  liad  occurred,  that  of  Sergeant  Cross,  who  died 
of  scurvy  on  Jan.  18th.  In  April,  the  effects  of  the  winter's 
privations  began  to  tell  fatally,  and  six  of  the  party  died 
during  the  month.  Of  these,  Lieutenant  Lockwood,  Ser- 
geants Linn  and  Jewell,  and  the  Eskimo  Christiansen  died 
at  the  camp.  Sergeant  Rice  perislied  in  an  attempt  to  ob- 
tain the  English  meat  which  had  been  left  at  Jiaird  Inlet  in 
the  preceding  November.  Fredericks,  who  accompanied 
him  on  the  journey,  returned  alone,  after  burying  his  coni- 
rado  in  the  ice.  The  meat  could  not  be  found.  The  last 
death  during  the  month  was  that  of  Jens  Edward,  tlio 
second  Eskimo,  who  was  drowned  while  hunting  for  seals  in 
Lis  kayak. 

By  May  the  last  vestige  of  the  regular  rations  was  ex- 
hausted, and  the  survivors  of  tlie  party  kept  themselves 
alive  fur  a  time  on  sand-shrimps  and  moss.  The  shrimp  is 
a  minute  shell-tish,  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  about  four- 
liftha  of  its  substance  being  shell,  and  one-tifth  meat.  The 
allowance  of  shrimps  was  from  one  to  three  ounces  a  day, 
according  to  the  catch.  A  little  sustenance  was  got  out  ot 
boiled  reindeer  moss,  and  as  a  last  resort,  the  sealskin  linings 
of  the  sleeping-bags  were  cut  into  strips  and  boiled,  making 
a  kind  of  jelly. 


>.i 


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,i 


I    ': 


H 


256 


The  HesGiie  of  Oreely, 


Early  in  May,  the  water  invaded  the  hut,  making  it  unin- 
habitable. The  tent  was  then  pitched  on  an  elevation,  and 
the  exhausted  party  removed  to  it.  During  May  and  June 
eleven  deaths  occuired,  the  last  on  the  18th,  four  days  be- 
fore the  relief  8hi])3  arrived ;  and  had  these  been  delayed 
but  a  few  hours,  the  death-roll  would  have  had  other  names. 
Of  tlie  suffering  and  horror  of  those  last  three  weeks,  it  is 
needless  here  to  speak ;  and  the  story,  if  it  is  told  at  all, 
must  be  told  by  the  survivors  themselves. 

It  was  only  gradually,  and  with  frequent  interruptions, 
during  the  passage  from  Littleton  Island  to  Upernivik,  that 
the  experience  of  tlie  explorers  at  Cape  Sabine  was  learned 
by  the  officers  of  the  relief  ships.  At  lii*st,  they  were  not 
encouraged  to  talk,  but  as  they  gained  strength  from  day  to 
day,  the  rominiscences  of  tliose  whose  health  was  best,  shaped 
themselves  into  a  connected  narrative,  until  by  the  time 
that  the  Alert  was  met,  every  one  had  become  familiar  with 
the  events  of  that  terrible  winter. 


i; 


>! 


:i; 


I 

I 


•  Early  on  the  morning  of  July  2d,  the  fleet  reached  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Berry  Islands,  and  tlie  dangerous 
waters  in  which  tb.c  Thetis  and  £ear  had  already  had  a 
disagreeable  experience.  Tlie  ice,  jammed  in  against  the 
land,  left  only  a  narrow  lane  off  the  islands  tilled  with 
sunken  rocks,  none  of  whivjh  are  marked  on  the  small-scale 
charts  of  the  Greenland  coast.  An  occasional  bump  under 
such  circumstances  was  to  bo  expected.  At  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  the  Thetis  was  leading,  and  the  othera  keeping 
in  her  wake,  the  speed  of  the  ships  having  been  reduced  to 
two  knots.    Although  the  Bear  was  following  the  Thetu 


1^1 


Cape  Sahiiie  to  Disho. 


257 


closely,  the  tide  set  lier  in  a  little,  and  she  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  run  upon  a  rock,  which  tlie  Thetis  by  fijood  hick 
must  have  barely  grazed.  After  hanging  for  two  hours,  the 
Bear  was  pulled  off  by  her  consorts  without  any  injury. 

Half  an  hour  later,  upon  reacliing  the  Brown  Islands,  18 
miles  north  of  Upernivik,  signal  was  made  to  the  Alert  o 
proceed  to  Disko  with  the  Loch  Garry  under  convoy,  and 
to  await  there  the  arrival  of  the  Thetis  and  the  Bear.  The 
latter  ])ut  in  at  Upernivik,  arriving  at  11  a.m.,  July  2d,  and 
anchored  in  the  outer  harbor,  after  a  passage  of  less  than 
five  days  from  Cape  York. 

The  approach  of  the  squadron  had  been  seen  in  the  early 
morning  from  Upernivik,  and  the  village  was  alive  with  ex- 
citement. It  was  conjectured  that  its  early  i-eturn  had  a 
decisive  meaning.  Governor  Elborg  was  too  restless  to 
wait  for  the  arrival  of  the  ships  in  port  after  he  bad  seen 
them  heading  in,  and  pulled  off  three  miles  in  his  boat  to 
meet  them  and  learn  the  news.  Reacliing  the  deck,  he 
rushed  up  to  the  commander,  exclaiming,  "Mein  Gott, 
Captain,  what  news  have  you  brought? "  The  story  of  the 
expedition  and  the  rescue  aroused  the  good  fellow's  warmest 
sympathy.  He  wanted  to  see  Lieutenant  Greely,  and  was 
oager  to  do  what  he  could  for  him.  After  a  brief  interview, 
he  returned  on  deck,  and  told  the  story  tohis  Eskimo  bcp.tmen. 

As  the  ships  camo  up  the  harbor,  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
settlement. — there  were  less  than  two  hundred  of  them, — 
coujd  be  seen  standing  on  the  hills  and  about  the  beach,  their 
dark  forms  plainly  outlined  above  the  rocks.  As  soon  as  the 
vessels  were  secured,  the  Goveinor  went  ashore,  and  the  na- 
tives gathered  eagerly  about  him  to  learn  the  news.  Groat 
was  *heir  consternation  when  they  learned  that  their  coun- 
17 


I': 


■M 


I      f 


I     ! 


I  I 


1 


; 


258 


The  Tiescite  of  Gredy. 


trjmen,  Jens  and  Christiansen,  the  two  Eskimo  from  Proven, 
were  among  tlie  lost.  The  two  men  had  been  among  tho 
foremost  of  the  native  population  which  centered  at  Uperni- 
vik ;  and  at  no  place  was  the  disaster  felt  more  keenly  than 
at  tlie  little  Greenland  village,  whose  people  were  the  first 
to  receive  the  news  that  was  later  to  shock  the  civilized  world. 

The  ships  remained  for  two  days  at  Upernivik.  The  Gov- 
ernor was  unceasing  in  his  kindness.  The  Danish  colors  of 
the  settlement  were  kept  at  half-mast  as  long  as  the  ships 
were  there.  At  Elborg's  suggestion  the  body  of  Christian- 
sen was  retained  on  board,  to  be  carried  to  Godiiavn  for 
burial.  The  two  Eskimo  dog-drivers,  Hans  and  Nicolai, 
were  discharged,  and  the  dogs  from  the  Thetis  were  landed, 
seven  of  them  as  a  present  to  the  Governor. 

As  the  Bear  was  most  in  need  of  coal,  the  sixtv  tons 
landed  by  the  Loch  Garry  were  taken  on  board  in  a  lighter, 
which  came  near  swamping  during  the  operation.  Elborg 
had  been  promoted  to  be  Governor  of  Christianshaab,  one  of 
the  more  southerly  settlements,  and  at  his  request,  the  whale- 
boat  which  Colwell  had  given  him  the  year  before,  was 
taken  down  to  Disko  by  tho  Bear^  to  be  forwarded  to  its 
destination. 

During  their  stay,  the  relief  ships  had  a  little  experience 
of  the  ditHculties  of  lying  in  Upernivik  harbor.  A  little 
before  noon,  on  the  day  that  they  arrived,  the  wi»id  blew  up 
fresh  from  tlje  southwest,  with  stiff  squalls,  driving  both 
ships  from  their  moorings,  and  great  difficulty  w-is  found  in 
securing  them  in  the  deep  water  and  bad  anchorage  of  the 
open  roadstead,  where  the  holding  ground  was  mostly  smooth 
rock.  Danish  Harbor  was  inaccessible,  being  filled  with 
icebergs.    During  the  gale  the  Thetia  was  secured  to   a 


I' », 


M 


Cwpe  Sahine  to  Disko, 


259 


giouiided  berg,  which  later  in  the  day  capsized.  The  Bear 
WH8  driven  from  her  moorings  and  exposed  to  imminent 
danger,  from  which  she  was  only  extricated  by  good  judg- 
ment and  seamanship. 

In  the  outer  harbor  of  the  port  there  is  a  ridge  with  nine 
or  ten  fathoms  of  water  upon  it,  shelving  both  ways  into 
very  deej)  water.  As  the  wind  was  from  the  southwest, 
Emory  intended  to  anchor  on  its  western  side,  so  that  if  his 
ship  should  drag  it  would  be  up  hill.  During  a  violent 
Bquall  about  noon,  the  Bear' 8  anchor  started  and  soon  passed 
over  this  ridge  into  deep  water,  with  sixty  fathoms  of  chain 
up  and  down.  The  ship  drove  rapidly  towards  the  rocky 
cliffs  to  leeward,  ...nd  the  promptest  action  was  requii-ed. 
The  danger  was  imminent,  but  at  the  proper  moment  the 
Bear's  engine  was  backed  and  the  ship's  stern  turned  to 
windward  and  away  from  tho  cliff.  The  manoeuvre  was 
most  admirable  and  seamanl  ce,  for  as  the  ship's  head  fell 
off  to  leeward  she  just  cleare<  rocks  upon  which  a  few 

moments  before  she  had  been  ar  'ig.  The  Bear  then  got 
her  anchor  and  steered  for  a  small  island  on  the  south  side 
of  the  port,  where  she  lay  in  security.  Later  in  the  day  the 
Thetis  was  driven  from  her  anchorage,  and  was  forced  to 
seek  shelter  under  the  same  island  on  the  Beais  port  bow. 
Dragging  here,  she  fouled  the  Bear's  chain,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment it  pjcmed  that  both  ships  must  be  driven  together. 
The  Bear  veered  chain  while  the  Thetis  was  started  ahead 
at  full  steam,  with  a  starboard  helm,  clearing  the  Bear'^s 
head-booms  by  a  yard  or  two.  This  manoeuvre  cost  the 
Thetis  an  anchor,  but  it  prevented  a  smash-up. 

On  the  atltei'noon  of  July  3d,  after  bidding  the  excellent 
Governor  a  last  good-bye,  tho  Thetis  and  the  Bear  got  under 


\A 


!| 


^  r: 


260 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Greely. 


I 


\ii 


'•  m 


waj  for  Disko.  As  tliey  stood  out  of  the  harbor,  Elborg 
fired  a  salute  of  six  guns  from  the  liitle  fortification  at  tlie 
settlement.  As  there  were  no  guns  on  board  the  ships,  tlie 
salute  was  returned  by  dipping  flags  and  sounding  the  steam 
■whistles.  Soon  after  clearing  the  harbor,  the  Thetis  struck 
a  rock,  but  moved  over  it  without  injury. 

The  ships  had  now  passed  from  the  region  of  dangerous 
ice.  On  the  way  south  they  met  occasional  floes,  and  passed 
numbers  of  imbedded  icebergs,  but  these  were  of  slight  im- 
portance after  all  that  had  been  gone  through  in  Melville 
Bay,  and  they  were  avoided  in  the  clear  weather  with  little 
difficulty.  After  crossing  the  mouth  of  the  Waigat,  the 
wind,  which  had  been  norfherly,  shifted  to  the  southwest. 
The  pack-ice  was  finally  left  behind,  and  the  ships  found 
themselves  in  a  moderate  sea. 

During  the  4th  of  July  the  Thetis  and  Bear  continued 
on  their  way  southward  without  interruption.  At  noon  the 
ships  were  dressed  with  flags  in  honor  of  the  day.  The  en- 
sign was  hoisted  at  the  peak  aiid  the  fore  royal  mastliead, 
the  pennant  at  the  main,  the  flag  of  the  American  Yacht 
Club  at  the  mizzen,  and  the  Jack  forward.  At  half-past 
three  on  the  morning  of  the  5th,  the  ships  arrived  at  Disko, 
where  they  found  the  Alert  and  Loch  Garry  awaiting  them. 

As  the  other  ships  had  reached  Disko  two  days  before, 
the  result  of  the  expedition  had  been  made  known,  but  a 
keen  desire  was  aroused  to  hear  from  the  Thetis  and  the 
Bear  the  actual  circumstances  of  the  rescue,  and  to  see  the 
survivors  of  the  expedition.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  relief 
ships  had  anchored  in  the  slioaler  water  of  the  inner  harbor, 
from  which  the  ice  had  now  entirely  passed  away,  the  in- 
spector and  the  governor  came  on  board  to  welcome  them 


11  I 


!!  St 


\ 


< 
•J 


lb 
h, 
0 

•J 
X 

111 

tt) 

u 

Z 

o 
z. 


1 


'f 


Cape  Sabine  to  Bisko, 


261 


and  to  offer  tlieir  s^  ipathy  to  Greelj  and  his  companions. 
After  the  inspector's  visit,  the  natives  came  ofl[*  to  the  two 
fillips  to  hear  the  story  from  the  Eskimo  interpreter. 

A  great  change  had  taken  place  about  Godhavn  during 
the  absence  of  the  expedition.  The  ice  and  snow  had  dis- 
appeared ;  grass  covered  the  soil  between  the  rocks,  and 
M'ild  flowers  were  opening  hero  and  there  under  the  genial 
influence  of  the  summer  sunshine.  The  ofticers  occupied 
their  spare  time  in  fishing,  and  large  numbers  of  rock  cod 
were  caught,  a  fish  similar  to  that  found  about  the  rocky 
shores  of  Cape  Ann,  in  Massachusetts.  The  fish  gave  an 
additional  variety  to  the  somewhat  monotonous  bill  of  faro 
of  the  invalids. 

Most  of  tlie  members  of  the  party  were  now  so  much  im- 
proved in  health  that  they  were  able  to  move  about  the 
ehip,  and  do  very  much  what  they  liked.  Elison's  condition, 
however,  had  grown  steadily  worse  from  day  to  day,  and  it 
was  now  most  critical.  A  consultation  was  held  by  the 
surgeons  of  the  three  ships,  and  it  was  determined  to  ampu- 
tate his  feet  as  the  only  chance  of  life  left  to  the  sufferer. 
The  operation  was  performed  on  tho  5ih,  immediately  after 
the  arrival  of  the  Bear  at  Disko.  Ilis  system,  however, 
had  become  so  depleted  by  exposure  and  want  of  food  dur- 
ing tho  eight  months,  since  his  journey  to  Cape  Isabella, 
that  ho  had  no  strength  left  to  fall  back  upon.  In  spite  of 
the  skill  of  the  surgeons,  he  grew  rapidly  worse,  and  on  the 
third  day  after  tho  amputation,  at  ;}.3i)  a.m.,  July  8th,  he 
passed  away  quietly  and  without  apparent  sutfiTing. 

In  accordance  witii  the  wish  of  tlio  Inspector  of  North 
Greenland,  it  AVas  decided  that  the  body  of  Christiansen 
fihould  be  buried  at  Disko.     Prcpaiations  were  accordingly 


■r- 


I 


it 


262 


Th^  Rescue  of  Greely. 


made,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  July  7tli,  the  body  was  landed 
from  the  Bear.  There  were  two  boats  from  the  Bear,,  one 
from  tlie  Thetis^  and  one  from  the  Alert.  Tlicy  set  out 
from  the  Bear  in  line  aliead,  with  their  fla"^  at  lialf-mast ; 
tl:e  first  boat  carrying^  the  body,  which  had  been  placsd  in  a 
coffin  covered  with  dark  blue  cloth,  and  draped  witli  the 
red,  white,  and  blue  of  the  national  flag.  As  the  boats 
left  the  Bear,  the  colors  were  half-masted  on  all  the  ships, 
and  immediately  after,  those  on  the  flagstaff  of  the  settle- 
ment, while  minute-guns  were  fired  from  the  little  battery. 
The  boats  were  met  at  the  landing  by  the  Inspector  and  the 
Governor,  and  the  body  was  taken  npon  the  shoulders  of  six 
seamen,  and  followed  by  the  Greenland  official'^  and  by 
twenty-five  officers  and  men  from  the  squadron.  The  min- 
ute-guns continued  firing  as  the  funeral  procession  wound 
its  way  up  the  hill  to  the  little  chapel  of  Disko.  At  the 
door  of  the  chapel  the  Inspector  received  the  body,  and  ad- 
dressed it  with  a  few  words  of  singular  simplicity  and 
pathos.     Turning  to  tlie  dead  man,  he  said  in  English: 

"  As  head  of  the  Danish  Oovcrnment  in  North  Greenland,  I  have  re- 
ceived your  body,  and  in  the  name  of  all  the  Danish  and  Greenland  peo- 
ple I  will  say  you  farewell  I  Your  last  master,  Lie\itenant  Greely,  has 
said  you  were  a  good  and  a  brave  man  ;  ho  has  promised  me  to  send  for 
your  tomb  a  monument  as  a  sign  for  your  countrymen  that  he  will  never 
forget  your  service  nor  will  ho  ever  forget  the  poor  Eskimo  from  Uperni- 
vik,  who  has  lived  and  suJTorcd  as  a  comrade  with  the  United  States 
friends.  We  will  all  follow  you  lo  yoiu'  last  resting-place,  and  beg  God 
to  save  your  soul  and  give  consolation  to  your  poor  family." 

By  this  time  the  chapel  was  filled  with  men,  women,  and 
children,  all  of  whom,  notwithstanding  their  stolid  Enkinio 
temperamont,  socmod  to  bo  ovoi'como  with  grief,  which  was 
all  the  more  singtdar  as  Christianben  was  not  a  Disko  man, 


1 


Cape  Sabine  to  Dish). 


263 


landed 
ar,  one 
set  out 
f-mast ; 
!3d  in  a 
itii  the 
e  boats 
e  ships, 
3  settle- 
battery, 
and  the 
PS  of  six 
and  by 
he  min- 
i  wound 

At  the 
and  ad- 

y  and 

have  re- 

liiid  peo- 
rocly,  has 

send  for 
will  never 
Ti  Upcrnl- 
c(l  Stilted 

beg  Ood 

len,  and 
KHkinio 

lich  was 
ko  n)aii, 


and  none  of  the  people  about  Godhavn  had  ever  seen  him. 
The  services  began  with  a  hymn,  which  was  sung  by 
Madame  Thygnssen,  the  native  wife  of  a  deceased  Danish 
official,  after  which  the  minister,  also  an  Eskimo,  delivered 
a  funeral  address  in  the  native  language.  The  quaintness 
and  simple  beauty  of  this  funeral  discourse  make  it  well 
worthy  of  reproduc'.ion  here.*     The  pastor  said  : 

"What  man  is  he  that  liveth  and  shall  not  see  death  ?  Shall  he  deliver 
his  soul  from  the  hand  of  the  grave  ? 

"Thus  questioned  David  as  he  prayed  to  the  Lord  his  Creator  and 
Benefactor  for  help,  and  we  also  who  this  day  behold  death  puss  near  us 
must  question  in  like  manner ;  for  no  man  will  escai^c  from  the  hand  of 
death,  and  numberless  are  they  who  each  day,  over  the  whole  world, 
lose  their  dear  ones  and  mourn  their  loss ;  and  thus  it  Avill  continue  lo 
the  end  of  the  world.  So  it  is  for  Danes,  Americans,  and  Qrecnlandors  ; 
all  shall  see  death,  and  all  will  mfuirn  for  the  dear  ones  who  are  taken 
from  us  to  be  laid  in  the  ground.  Sorrow  has  taken  up  her  abode  hero,  and 
there  are  many  who  mourn.  As  of  old  in  Egypt,  there  is  no  house 
which  has  not  been  visited  by  the  angel  of  death,  and  overwhelmed  with 
sorrow  ;  no  heart  but  has  seen  the  visit  and  felt  the  horror  of  di'alh. 
When  wc  therefore  to-day  carry  to  his  last  resting  place,  this  our  brother, 
who  was  a  stranger,  and  whose  face  we  did  not  know,  Ave  shall  Ihink  of 
the  friends  he  leaves  behind,  who  mourn  his  loss  and  who  would  wish  to 
be  with  us  at  the  grave  to  greet  their  beloved  one  for  the  last  time. 

"  No  man  knows  the  thought  of  God  concerning  us.  lie  whose  soid- 
less  body  wc  to-day  are  to  bnry,  and  the  other,  his  companion,  who  per- 
ished in  a  kayak  in  the  northern  regions,  did  not  think  their  days  were 
nuinlKjred  when  they  took  leave  of  the  wives  they  loved  and  of  the  chil- 
dren who  were  to  be  their  supjiort  in  their  old  age.  They  thought  they 
would  be  better  able  to  supi)ort  their  familicfi  when  they  returned,  and 
they  begged  them  to  pray  for  a  hi)i)py  meeting.  But  they  wore  never  to 
be  made  happy  by  seeing  each  other's  faces. 

"  The  dear  ones  whom  they  left  behind  hoped  for  everything  good 
when  the  ship  returned,  and  were  happy  ;  but  when  she  lay  at  anchor 
the  hope  of  their  lives  was  extinguished  as  they  heard  that  those  for 
whom  they  had  so  long  and  so  sincerely  been  longing  had  perished.    We 

*Th(iKuglish  translation  is  made  from  a  Danish  vensioix  written  by 
Madame  Thygttsson  from  tho  orijjiual  lutikimo. 


i\ 


I, 


^^  1 


m 


'\ 


I 


264 


The  Rescue  of  Greely. 


will  hope  that  they  who  have  become  so  wretched  may  draw  a  Christian's 
consolation  from  above,  and  find  that  Jesus  can  soothe  their  sorrowful 
hearts  and  heal  their  wounds.  Now,  dear  friends,  when  death  breaks 
asunder  the  tie  between  husband  and  wife,  and  between  parents  and  chil- 
dren, we  are  grieved,  but  we  as  Christians  have  consolation  in  the  hope 
that  those  who  are  separated  by  death  will  meet  again  in  the  heaven  of 
the  believers. 

"  God  has  also  brought  help  In  this  world  for  the  dear  ones  these  men 
have  left  behind,  as  those  who  were  with  them  on  the  voyage  will  be  a 
support  to  their  families. 

"  Again,  we  pray  to  God  that  He  will  assist  these  strangers  in  the  far 
country  to  whom  the  angel  of  death  has  also  come. 

"  Peace  be  with  their  dust. 

"  In  the  name  of  Jesus,  Amen." 

When  the  sermon  was  ended,  the  procession  again  took 
up  its  line  of  march,  followed  by  the  natives,  to  the  little 
graveyard  half  a  mile  away  across  the  ravines  and  gullies  of 
the  island.  The  people  closed  around  the  grave,  and  after 
a  last  prayer  had  been  offered  by  the  minister,  the  body  was 
laid  away  in  its  final  resting-place. 

The  day  after  the  funeral  of  Christiansen,  July  9th,  was 
fixed  for  the  departure  of  the  squadron.  Diiring  the  four 
days  spent  in  port,  preparations  had  been  made  for  the  voy- 
age to  St.  John's.  The  engine  of  the  Alert  required  repair, 
and  the  rudder  of  the  Thetis  had  been  so  badly  damaged 
in  the  ice  that  it  was  unsafe  to  go  to  sea  with  it.  It  was 
therefore  un?hipped,  and  the  spare  rudder  which  had  been 
brought  from  New  York  was  put  in  its  place.  The  house  car- 
ried by  the  Alert  was  transferred  to  the  Looh  Garry^  and 
the  Thetis  t3ok  on  board  ninety  tons  of  coal  from  the  col- 
lier. All  the  dogs  were  sent  ashore,  four  of  them  being 
^ivon  as  a  present  to  the  Eskimo  David,  who  was  dis- 
charged at  this  time. 

Godhavn,  like  the    other    leading   settlements  on    the 


on 


the 


1 


Cwpe  Sahme  to  Disko. 


265 


Christian's 
sorrowful 
ith  breaks 
3  and  chil- 
li the  hope 
I  heaven  of 

these  men 
;e  will  be  a 

3  in  the  far 


;ain  took 
the  little 
gullies  of 
and  after 
body  was 

9th,  was 
the  four 
the  voy- 
ed  repair, 
damaged 
It  was 
had  been 
louse  car- 
arnj^  and 
I  the  col- 
sin  being 
was  dia- 


Greenland  coast,  is  visited  during  the  summer  by  a  brig  sent 
out  from  Copenhagen  by  the  Danish  Government  with  a  mail 
and  supplies.  There  are  three  of  these  brigs  which  make 
summer  trips  to  different  points.  Another  visits  Greenland 
in  the  spring,  arriving  about  April,  but  it  goes  only  to  Hol- 
steinborg,  where  it  finds  the  single  mail  which  has  been  col- 
lected in  the  early  spring  from  more  northerly  points. 
While  the  relief  expedition  was  waiting  at  Godhavn  to  sail 
for  St.  John's,  it  was  learned  that  the  supply  vessel  had  been 
detained  beyond  her  usual  time  of  arrival,  and  the  food  sup- 
ply was  so  reduced  that  the  Inspector  was  afraid  that  the 
settlement  would  be  in  want  before  her  arrival.  In  view  of 
the  uniform  kindness  of  the  Greenland  officials,  and  of  the 
substantial  assistance  which  they  had  given  to  the  ships,  it 
was  with  no  small  satisfaction  that  the  commander  of  the  re- 
lief squadron,  upon  learning  the  state  of  affairs,  directed  the 
landing  of  200  rations  of  bread,  meat,  and  soups,  and  was 
thus  enabled  in  a  small  degree  to  return  the  obligations  un- 
der which  the  kindly  Greenlanders  had  placed  all  our  ex- 
peditions. 


J 


I      ! 


' 


;tl 


H( 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  EETUEN  HOME. 


The  fleet  left  Godhavn  at  6.30  a.m.  on  July  9th,  for  St. 
John's,  the  Alert,  whose  engines  were  still  partly  disabled, 
being  in  tow  of  the  Loch  Garry.  The  day  of  sailing  was 
beautiful  and  bright,  with  a  fresh  northeasterlj'^  breeze,  which 
carried  the  ships  along  at  a  speed  of  eight  knots  an  hour. 
After  clearing  the  harbor  a  signal  was  made  directing  the 
ships  to  take  position  on  the  quarters  of  the  Thetis,  and  a 
rendezvous  was  designated  tweAty-five  miled  northeast  of 
Cape  Spear,  where  the  ships  were  to  wait  before  going  into 
St.  John's,  if  separated  by  gales  or  fogs  on  the  passage 
down.  During  the  first  few  days  the  weather  was  fair,  and 
Greely  and  the  others  were  on  deck  at  intervals  during  each 
day.  When  there  was  a  heavy  sea,  some  of  them  were  sea- 
sick, but  Greely,  who  had  suffered  from  sea-sickness  on  his 
trip  north  in  the  Proteus,  escaped  entirely  on  the  journey 
home. 

On  the  second  day  out  the  snow-covered  mountains  of 
Greenland  were  lost  sight  of,  the  last  of  them  that  was  seen 
being  the  Sukkertoppen,  near  Holsteinborg.  As  the  ships 
made  over  towards  the  west  side  of  Davis  Strait,  they  fell 
in  with  large  icebergs,  but  these  were  looked  upon  with  none 
of  the  concern  and  anxiety  which  they  had  excited  on  the 
way  up.  The  hundreds  which  had  been  met  and  often  used 
for  shelter  in  Melville  Bay  and  Smith  Sound  had  made  them 
(266) 


The  Return  Home. 


267 


for  St. 
Lisabled, 
iing  waa 
e,  which 
m  hour, 
ting  the 
!s,  and  a 
;hea8t  of 
>ing  into 

passage 
fair,  and 
•ing  each 
ivere  sea- 
5S  on  his 

jouruey 

n tains  of 
was  seen 
the  ships 
they  fell 
vith  none 
d  on  the 
iften  used 
lade  them 


every-day  objects,  and  close  contact  had  robbed  them  of  all 
their  terrors.  They  were  the  last  remnants  of  Arctic  ice 
seen  by  the  expedition. 

On  the  i5th  of  July,  when  near  the  Funk  Islands,  off 
the  coast  of  Labrador,  a  fresh  southeast  gale  sprang  up, 
which  lasted  through  the  night,  with  thick  fog  and  heavy 
sei.  The  Loch  Garry  labored  so  much  in  the  sea  that  she 
cast  off  the  Alert^  which  she  had  been  towing  all  the  way 
from  Disko,  and  took  a  position  six  cables'  length  astern  of 
the  Thetis,  the  other  ships  being  at  three  cables'  distance  on 
the  starboard  and  port  quarters.  As  the  wind  and  sea  in- 
creased, the  course  was  changed  off  shore,  and  the  speed 
reduced  to  two  knots,  to  enable  the  Alert  to  keep  up.  She 
gradually  fell  astern,  however,  and  at  2.30  on  the  morning 
of  the  16th,  her  lights  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  thick  fog. 
When  daylight  broke  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  her.  The 
other  vessels  stood  on  under  low  speed  for  the  appointed 
rendezvous,  but  as  the  thick  weather  continued,  it  seemed 
to  be  useless  to  delay  longer  there,  and  the  course  was  shaped 
for  St.  John's. 

The  fog  continued  to  envelop  the  ships  as  they  advanced, 
shutting  out  the  land  from  view.  Positions  could  only 
be  determined  by  dead  reckoning, — a  very  unsatisfactory 
method  in  this  region  of  uncertain  currents  and  outlying 
dangers.  As  the  squadron  a})proached  the  mouth  of  St. 
John's  harbor,  the  fog-trumpet  at  Cape  Spear  was  heard, 
and  the  ships  were  kept  off  the  land  to  the  westward ;  but 
their  position  was  too  uncertain  to  justify  an  attempt  to 
enter  the  harbor.  Fortunately,  on  the  morning  of  the  17th, 
when  the  squadron  was  just  abreast  of  the  entrance,  which, 
although   only  half  a  mile  distant,  was  still  invisible,  the 


1 

■ 


\ 


.      :* 


r  ( 


/ 


268 


The  Rescue  of  Gredy. 


town-clock  in  St.  John's  was  heard  to  strike  eight,  and  the 
exact  posilion  of  the  harbor  was  discovered.  The  ships  were 
headed  to  the  west,  and  an  hour  later  they  had  entered  the 
port.  The  dense  fog  outside  tho  headlands  hid  the  vessels 
from  view  until  they  were  actually  inside  and  about  to 
anchor. 

As  soon  as  the  relief  ships  were  recognized  from  the  shore 
the  excitement  v/as  intense ,  the  city  was  all  agog,  and  the 
v.harves  were  instantly  crowded  with  wondering  people. 
The  early  return  of  the  expedition  was  interpreted  to  mean 
that  some  result  had  been  accomplished,  but  what  the  result 
was  could  not  be  conjectured ;  and  before  many  moments 
had  passed,  boats  in  great  numbers  put  off  to  learn  the 
news.  It  was  only  after  a  despatch  had  been  r^  iit  home 
that  this  curiosity  could  be  fully  gratified.  T'he  first  news 
of  the  result  of  the  expedition  belonged  to  the  lifavy  Depart- 
ment, and  arrangements  had  been  made  before  going  up  to 
hold  the  cable  for  the  official  message.  An  officer  was  sent 
on  shor'>  at  once  with  the  despatch,  and  fifteen  minutes  after 
the  vessels  had  dropped  anchor,  the  report  was  on  its  way. 
The  officer  by  whom  it  was  sent  carried  lIso  the  first  message 
fram  Greely  to  his  wife. 

The  telegram  to  "Washington  was  as  follows : 

St.  John's,  N.  F.,  July  17,  1884. 

Hon.  W.  E.  CnANDLER,  Secretary  of  Naioy,  Washington,  D.  0. : 

Thetis,  Bear,  and  Loch  Oarry  arrived  here  to-day  from  West  Green- 
land, all  well,  separated  in  gale  from  Alert  yesterday  150  miles  north. 
At  9  P.M.,  June  23d,  five  miles  west  of  Cape  Sabine  in  Smith  Sound, 
Thetis  and  Drar  rescued  alive  Lieutenant  A.  W.  Greely,  Sergeant  Brain- 
ard,  Sergeanv  Fredericks,  Sergeant  Long,  Hospital  Steward  Bierderbick, 
Sergeant  Eliion,  and  Private  Connell,  the  only  survivors  of  the  Lady 
Franklin  Bay  Expedition. 


I 


n 


The  Retuiii  Home. 


269 


and  tho 
ips  were 
jred  the 
)  vessels 
ibout  to 

he  shore 
and  the 
people. 
0  mean 
e  result 
iiomentB 
am  the 
it  home 
rst  news 
Depart- 
g  up  to 
vas  sent 
tes  after 
its  way. 
message 


7,  1884. 

ist  Green- 
les  north, 
th  Sound, 
ant  Brain- 
erderbick, 
the  Lady 


Sergeant  Eiison  had  lost  both  hands  and  feet  by  frost-bite,  and  died  at 
Godhavn  July  8th,  three  days  after  amputation,  which  had  become  im- 
perative. Seventeen  of  the  twenty-five  persons  composing  the  expedi- 
tion perished  by  starvation  at  the  point  wliere  found  ;  one  was  drowned 
while  sealing  to  procure  food  ;  twelve  bodies  of  the  dead  were  recovered 
and  are  now  on  board  Thetis  and  Bear.  One  Eslclrao,  Frederick,  was 
buried  at  Disko  in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the  Inspector  of  North 
Greenland.  Five  bodies  buried  in  ice-foot  near  the  camp  were  swept 
away  to  sea  by  winds  and  currents  before  my  arrival  and  could  not  be 
recovered.  N'  nes  of  dead  recovered  with  date  of  death  as  follows: 
Sergeant  Cross,  January  18,  1884 ;  Frederick,  Eskimo,  April  5th ;  Ser- 
geant Linn,  April  6th  ;  Lieutenant  Lockwood,  April  9th  ;  Sergeant  Jew- 
ell, April  12th ;  Private  Ellis,  May  19th ;  Sergeant  Ralston,  May  28d ; 
Private  Whisler,  May  24th  ;  Sergeant  Israel,  May  27th  ;  Lieutenant  Kis- 
lingbury,  June  1st ;  Private  llenry,  June  6th  ;  Private  Schneider,  June 
18th.  Names  of  dead  buried  in  the  ice-foot  with  date  of  death  whose 
bodies  were  not  recovered  as  follows  :  Sergeant  Rice,  April  9, 1884  ;  Cor- 
poral Salor,  June  3d  ;  Private  Bender,  June  6th  ;  A.  A.  Surgeon  Pavy, 
June  6th  ;  Sergeant  Gardiner,  June  12th.  Drowned  by  breaking  through 
newly-formed  ice  while  scaling,  Jens  Edwards,  Eskimo,  April  24th.  I 
would  urgently  suggest  that  bodies  now  on  board  bo  placed  in  metallic 
cases  here  for  safer  and  better  transportation  in  a  sea-way  ;  this  appears 
to  me  imperative. 

Greely  abandoned  Fort  Conger  August  9,  1883,  reached  Baird  Inlet 
September  29th  following,  with  party  all  well.  Abandoned  all  his  boats 
and  was  adrift  for  thirty  days  on  ice  floe  in  Smith  Sound.  His  perma- 
nent camp  was  established  October  21,  1883,  at  point  where  he  was 
found.  During  nine  months  this  party  had  to  live  upon  a  scant  allow- 
ance of  food  brought  from  Fort  Conger,  that  cached  at  Payer  Harbor 
and  Cape  Isabella  by  Sir  George  Nares  in  1875,  but  found  much  dam- 
aged by  lapse  of  time,  that  cached  by  Beebe  at  Cape  Sabine  in  1882,  and 
the  small  amount  saved  from  the  wreck  of  Proteus  in  1883  and  landed 
by  Lieutenants  Garlington  and  Colwell  on  beach  where  Grecly's  party 
was  found  camped.  When  these  provisions  were  consumed  party  was 
forced  to  live  upon  boiled  sealskin  strips  from  their  sealskin  clothing, 
lichens,  and  shrimps  procured  in  good  weather  when  they  were  strong 
enough  to  make  oxertion.  As  1,{jOO  shrimps  were  required  to  fill  a  gill 
meaimre,  the  labor  was  too  exhausting  to  depend  upon  them  to  sustain 
life  entirely. 

Channel  between  Cape  Sabine  and  Littleton  Island  did  not  close  on 
account  of  violent  gales  all  winter,  so  that  240  rations  at  latter  point 


i  i 


Il  » 


ill 


270 


The  BesGue  of  Gredy. 


could  not  be  reached.  All  Greely's  records  and  all  instruments  brought 
by  him  from  Fort  Conger  are  recovered  and  on  board. 

From  Hare  Island  to  Smit?  I  had  a  constant  and  furious  strug- 

gle with  ice.  Impassable  fiwco  aad  solid  barriers  were  overcom'^  by 
Avatchfulness  and  patience ;  no  opportunity  to  advance  a  mile  escaped 
.me,  and  for  several  hundred  miles  ships  were  forced  to  ram  their  way 
from  lead  to  lead  through  ice  ranging  in  thickness  from  three  to  seven 
feet,  and  where  rafted  much  greater. 

Thetis  and  Bear  reached  Cape  York  June  18th,  after  passage  of  twenty 
days  in  Melville  Bay,  with  two  advance  ships  of  the  Dundee  whaling 
fleet,  and  continued  to  Cape  Sabine.  Returning  seven  days  later  fell  in 
with  seven  others  of  the  fleet  off  Wolstenholme  Island,  and  announced 
Greely's  rescue  to  them,  that  they  might  not  be  delayed  from  their  fish- 
ing grounds,  nor  be  tempted  into  the  dangers  of  Smith  Sound  in  view  of 
the  reward  of  $25,000  offered  by  Congress. 

Returning  across  Melville  Bay  fell  in  with  Alert  and  Loch  Garry  off 
Devil's  Thumb  struggling  through  heavy  ice.  Commander  Coflin  did 
admirably  to  get  along  so  far  with  transport  so  early  in  the  season  before 
an  opening  had  occurred.  Lieutenant  Emory  with  the  Bear  has  sup- 
ported me  throughout  with  great  skillfulness  and  imflinching  readiness 
in  accomplishing  the  great  duty  of  relieving  Greely.  I  would  ask  in- 
structions about  Loch  Garry,  as  the  charter  party  held  by  her  master 
differs  in  several  important  particulars  from  mine. 

Greely  party  are  much  improved  in  health  since  rescue,  but  condition 
was  critical  in  extreme  when  found  and  for  some  days  after.  Forty- 
eight  hours'  delay  in  reaching  them  would  have  been  fatal  to  all  now 
living.  Season  north  is  late  and  closest  for  years ;  Kane  Sea  was  not 
open  when  I  left  Cape  Sabine.  Winter  about  Melville  Bay  most  severe 
for  thirty  years.  < 

This  great  result  is  entirely  due  to  the  prompt  action  and  unwearied 
energy  of  yourself  and  Secretary  of  War  in  fitting  this  expedition  for 
the  work  it  has  had  the  honor  to  accomplish. 

W.  S.  Schley,  Commander. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  at  this  time  at  West  Point, 
f roiD  which  place  lie  telegraphed  on  the  same  day  the  follow- 
ing answer : 

Commander  W.  S.  Schley  : 

Receive  my  congratulations  and  thanks  for  yourself  and  your  whole 
command  for  your  prudence,  perseverance,  and  courage  in  reaching 


July  17,  1884. 


The  Return  Hwtne. 


271 


our  dead  and  dying  countrymen.  The  hearts  of  the  Amencan  people 
go  out  with  great  affection  to  Lieutenant  Greely  and  the  few  survivors 
of  his  deadly  peril.  Care  for  them  unremittingly,  and  bid  them  be 
cheerful  and  hopeful  on  account  of  what  life  yet  has  in  store  for  them. 
Preserve  tenderly  the  remains  of  the  heroic  dead  ;  prepare  them  accord- 
ing to  your  judgment,  and  bring  them  home. 

William  E.  Chandler, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

All  through  the  morning  and  afternoon  of  the  day  on 
which  the  ships  arrived,  thej  were  visited  by  throngs  of 
people  anxious  to  hear  the  story  of  the  rescue  as  told  by 
those  who  had  participated  in  it.  Persevering  but  well- 
meant  efforts  were  made  to  obtain  interviews  with  the  sur- 
vivors of  the  expedition,  but  the  mere  excitement  of  arrival 
was  enough,  without  the  trying  ordeal  of  answering  ques- 
tions, and  sympathetic  curiosity  was  obliged  to  content  it- 
self with  a  sight  of  the  rescued  explorers.  During  the  after- 
noon Lieutenant  Greely  went  on  shore  to  try  his  muscles 
after  their  long  disuse,  but  his  halting  gait  and  weary  look 
after  a  walk  of  a  block  or  two  made  it  clear  that  his  strength 
had  not  yet  come  back.  Of  course  he  was  a  marked  man 
in  the  streets  of  St.  John's,  and  he  was  soon  obliged  to  re- 
treat to  the  ship  to  escape  the  too  expressive  sympathy  of 
the  kind  Newfoundlanders. 

The  Alert  came  in  on  the  evening  of  the  18th,  having  de- 
layed her  arrival  by  standing  off  and  on  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  appointed  rendezvous,  near  Cape  Spear,  in  obedience  to 
orders,  hoping  to  meel,  the  other  ships  when  the  weather 
cleared.  After  waiting  a  day,  the  fog  lifted,  and  as  nothing 
could  be  seen  of  the  other  ships,  Commander  Coffin  bore  up 
for  St.  John's,  feeling  sure  that  they  had  already  arrived. 

The  squadron  was  detained  for  a  week  at  St.  John's,  and 


-^1 


1  ■ 


\ 


272 


The  Beacyue  of  Cheeky. 


i  .i 


V- 


this  little  period'  of  relaxation  was  thoroughly  enjoyed  by 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  expedition  after  the  hard  work 
and  anxiety  of  the  voyage.  Sir  John  Glover,  the  Governor 
of  Newfoundland,  and  Lady  Glover  were  unremitting  in 
their  courtesies,  and  their  hospitality,  as  wall  as  that  of  the 
officials  and  of  the  principal  residents  of  St.  John's,  seemed 
to  know  no  limit.  Indeed  it  was  impossible  during  the 
week  to  find  time  to  accept  all  the  attentions  that  were 
lavished  upon  the  officers.  The  Consul,  Mr.  Molloy,  whose 
services  had  been  in  frequent  demand  for  three  years  on  ac- 
count of  the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition,  gave  the  sur- 
vivors a  warm  welcome,  and  took  Greely  under  his  hospit- 
able roof.  The  crews  of  the  three  vessels  were  given  plenty 
of  opportunities  for  a  run  ashore,  and  contrary  to  the  usual 
habit  of  blue-jackets,  they  did  not  abuse  the  privilege,  while 
th?;y  car^e  in  for  a  large  share  of  the  colonial  hospitalities. 

As  the  Thetis  and  the  Bear  could  not  be  used  for  a 
pleasure-party,  however  informal,  it  was  decided,  by  way  of 
returning  the  kindness  and  cordiality  of  the  people  of  St. 
John's,  to  receive  them  quietly  on  board  the  Alert^  on  the 
24th.  The  guests  came  off  in  the  morning,  and  were  wel- 
comed on  board  by  all  the  officers  of  the  squadron  who 
could  be  spared  from  their  work.  Two  or  three  hours  were 
passed  quietly  and  pleasantly  in  looking  over  the  ship,  in 
talking,  and  at  lunch  in  the  ward-room.  There  was  no  cere- 
mony, and  there  was  a  genuine  pleasure  in  playing  the  host 
after  all  that  had  been  done  for  the  officer  on  shore. 

On  the  25th  a  despatch  was  received  from  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  then  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  asking  on  what 
morning  the  ships  might  be  expected  to  enter  Portsmouth 
Harbor.    As  the  metallic  cases  which  had  been  ordered  for 


T}i£  Return  Home. 


273 


the  bodies  were  completed  on  this  day,  everything  was  in 
readiness  for  departure,  and  a  reply  was  sent  designatiiig  the 
2d  of  August  as  the  probable  date. 

At  ten  A.M.  on  the  26th  the  squadron  left  St.  John's  for 
Portsmouth.  It  was  escorted  out  of  the  harbor  by  a  fleet  of 
tug-boats  and  launches,  crowded  with  people,  who  had  come 
off  to  have  a  last  look  at  the  ships.  When  they  had  got 
well  out  to  Cape  Spear,  the  steamboats  passed  around  the 
ships  in  succession,  saluting  with  their  whistles,  and  the 
people  on  board  giving  a  farewell  cheer. 

Leaving  their  escort  behind,  the  relief  ships  continued  on 
their  course,  rounding  Cape  Race  in  a  fresh  sou'westerly 
breeze  and  a  chopping  sea,  and  headed  for  Portsmouth. 
The  passage  down  was  uneventful.  The  weather  was  fine 
in  spite  of  occasional  fogs,  but  the  invalids  suffered  some- 
what from  the  dampness  and  the  summer  heat,  which  pro- 
duced a  temporary  prostration.  Except  for  this,  and  for 
their  aching  joints  and  muscles,  they  were  all  fairly  conva- 
lescent. By  the  end  of  the  voyage  Greely  had  recovered  his 
normal  weight — at  least  his  weight  when  he  left  Fort  Con- 
ger— ^liaving  gained  fifty  pounds  in  six  weeks. 

It  was  intended  to  reach  Portsmouth  on  the  2d  of  Au- 
gust, but  the  winds  which  are  commonly  at  that  season  from 
the  westward  changed  to  the  east,  and  the  ships  were  carried 
along  under  sail  almost  without  help  from  the  engines.  Tins 
gained  them  a  day,  and  brought  them  in  before  the  date  that 
had  been  assigned.  As  they  neared  the  coast,  on  the  31st  of 
July,  a  dense  fog  settled  down,  and  speed  was  somewhat  re- 
duced in  consequence,  although  the  soundings  gave  a  sure 
indication  of  correct  position.  At  daylight  on  August  Ist 
the  fog  lifted  and  the  lighthouse  on  the  Isle  of  Shoals  was 
18 


?| 


I. 


274 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


sighted  about  ten  miles  off.  Standing  on  towards  Portsmouth 
as  the  day  advanced  the  squadron  discovered  several  ships  of 
war  in  the  lower  harbor,  and  presently  the  Alliance  came  out 
{0  meet  it  and  delivered  orders  from  Acting  Rear-Admiral 
Luce,  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  !North  Atlantic  Squad- 
ron, to  delay  arrival  until  August  2d,  which  had  been  fixed 
as  the  day  on  which  the  expedition  was  to  be  formally  re- 
ceived. The  relief  ships  accordingly  steamed  to  the  north- 
ward and  anchored  near  Boon  Island  Light. 

Considering,  however,  that  the  friends  of  all  on  board  the 
vessels,  including  the  rescued  party,  were  waiting  on  shore 
to  greet  them,  it  would  have  been  little  less  than  cruel  to 
have  kept  the  squadron  out  any  longer.  Tiie  programme 
was  therefore  sacrificed ;  the  order  to  delay  entering  was 
revoked,  and  the  Thetis,  Bear,  and  Alert  once  more  got 
under  way  and  headed  for  the  harbor. 

The  recepli<in  which  greeted  the  squadron  at  Portsmouth 
was  an  ovation  which  took  its  officers  and  men  wholly  by 
surprise.  The  North  Atlantic  Squadron  was  lying  in  tlie 
lower  harbor,  composed  of  the  flagship  Tennessee  and  the 
Vandalia,  Swatara,  Tantic  and  Alliance.  Two  ships  of 
the  training  squadron,  the  Portsmouth  and  Jamestown^ 
were  also  present,  and  the  practice  ships  from  Annapolis,  the 
Constellation  and  Dale,  were  lying  at  the  Navy  Yard.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  the  Chief  Signal  Officer  of  the 
Army  had  come  down  to  Portsmouth  to  give  an  otHcial 
welcome,  and  the  friends  of  tho  members  of  both  expedi- 
tions had  been  sent  for.  The  shores  of  the  river,  on  both 
sides,  were  lined  with  people,  and  the  harbor  was  filled  with 
steamers,  sailboats,  and  small  craft  of  every  description,  all 
of  them  dressed  with  flags  and  streamers. 


The  Return  Home. 


275 


tsmouth 
ships  of 
ame  out 
Admiral 
3  Squad- 
en  fixed 
Qally  re- 
le  north- 

oard  the 
on  shore 
cruel  to 
(fframme 
:iiig  was 
nnre  got 

rtsmouth 
holly  by 
nj  in  the 
and  the 
ships  of 
nestoivn^ 
polis,  the 
rtl.    The 
er  of  the 
otHcial 
1  oxpedi- 
on  both 
Hod  with 
)tion,  all 


At  two  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  a  beautiful  August 
day  the  Thetis,  Bear,  and  Alert,  led  by  the  Alliance,  steamed 
into  the  harbor.  As  they  passed  the  ships  of  war  in  succes- 
sion, the  crews  of  the  latter  swarmed  in  the  rigging.  As 
the  relief  ships  came  to  anchor  the  band  of  the  flag-ship 
played  "Honae  Again,"  and  the  crews  in  the  rigging  gave 
them  cheer  apon  cheer  which  was  caught  up  and  carried 
along  the  shore.  At  the  same  moment,  the  Secretary's  bai'ge 
left  the  flag-ship  with  Mrs.  Greely,  who  was  the  first  person 
to  come  on  board  the  Thetis.  Poor  Greely  was  waiting  for 
her  in  the  cabin,  and  there  the  first  meeting  took  place. 

Immediately  after,  the  ofiicers  of  the  relief  squadron  went 
on  board  the  Tennessee,  where  they  were  received  by  the 
Secretary  and  the  Admiral  with  an  uncommonly  iiearty 
greeting.  Later  in  the  afternoon  the  Secretary,  accompanied 
by  Admiral  Luce  and  General  Ilazen,  went  on  board  the 
relief  ships  to  welcome  Greely  and  to  give  their  congratula- 
tions to  the  ofticers  and  men  on  the  decks  of  their  own 
vessels. 

During  the  next  three  days  the  relief  ships  wore  the 
centre  of  interest,  and  filled  with  visitors  from  morning  till 
night.  On  Monday,  the  4th,  the  city  of  Portsmouth  gave 
a  civic  reception  to  the  rescued  party  and  to  the  ofticers  and 
men  of  the  relief  squacU'on.  It  was  another  warm  ovation. 
In  fact,  the  expedition  was  in  danger  of  being  overwhelmed 
with  the  heartiness  of  its  welcome.  The  survivors,  fortunate- 
ly, had  been  transferred  to  quarters  at  the  Navy  Yard,  where 
they  were  free  from  intrusion,  and  they  were  carefully 
looked  after  by  the  physicians,  who  prevented  them  from 
being  killed  with  kindness.  At  the  civic  reception,  tliey  sat 
for  an  iiour  on  the  grand  stand,  and  watched  the  ])roces8ion, 


il 


276 


Tlie  Rescue  of  Oreely. 


but  after  that  they  were  quietly  taken  back  to  the  Yard.  It 
was  just  as  well  for  them,  as  the  transition  from  Camp  Clay 
to  Portsmouth  on  the  4th  of  August  would  have  been  a 
severe  strain  to  the  toughest  nerves.  Wliat  with  the  pro- 
cessions, and  brass  bands,  and  citizen  soldiery,  and  blue- 
jackets, and  distinguished  visitors,  the  rural  streets  of  the 
staid  old  New  Hampshire  town  were  transformed  beyond 
all  recognition. 

The  relief  squadron  was  ordered  to  sail  for  New  York  on 
August  5th.  Early  in  the  morning  of  that  day,  the  body 
of  Sergeant  Jewell,  a  New  Hampshire  man,  was  landed  in 
compliance  with  the  wish  of  his  friends.  The  body  was 
taken  to  the  Navy  Yard,  and  carried  to  the  slope  just  above 
the  wharf.  A  little  group,  composed  of  the  Secretary,  the 
friends  of  the  dead  man,  and  a  few  of  the  officers,  gathered 
around  while  the  burial  service  was  read  in  the  open  air. 
The  body  was  then  taken  over  to  the  cit}^  in  the  steam  tug, 
and  put  on  board  the  train  at  the  station. 

At  the  same  hour,  the  relief  ships  sailed  for  New  York. 
After  a  slow  passage,  they  arrived  on  the  morning  of 
the  8th,  and  were  saluted  with  twenty-one  guns  from  Fort 
Columbus.  The  batteries  of  the  4th  and  5th  Artillerv 
were  drawn  up  on  the  wharf  at  Governor's  Island,  to  receive 
the  dead.  There  were  also  ]>rescnt  the  Secretary  of  War, 
General  Sheridan,  General  Hancock,  General  Ilazen,  Com- 
modore Fillebrown,  and  other  officers  of  high  rank.  The 
bodies  were  transferred  soon  after  arrival  to  the  steiim 
tug  Catalpa^  belonging  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard,  and  a 
little  before  one  o'clock  the  Catalpa  steamed  up  to  the  dock, 
while  minute-guns  were  fired  from  tiie  shore.  The  com- 
mander of  the  expcditio!!  went  on  shore,  and  formally  do- 


The  Return  Home. 


277 


ard.  It 
np  Clay 

been  a 
;he  pro- 
id  blue- 
is  of  the 

beyond 

Fork  on 
le  body 
inded  in 
)dy  was 
st  above 
tary,  the 
gathered 
•pen  air. 
3am  tug, 

w  York, 
•ning  of 
oni  Fort 
Vrtillerv 
)  receive 
of  War, 

n,  Com- 
ic. The 
lO  stoiini 
J,  and  a 

le  doclc, 
'ho  coin- 
iiallv  de- 


livered the  bodies  to  General  Hancock,  representing  the 
War  Department.  They  were  placed  on  artillery  caissons, 
and  taken  to  the  chapel,  the  long  line  of  troops  drawn  up 
along  the  wharf  presenting  arms  to  each  body  as  it  passed. 
At  the  chapel,  all  but  two  were  delivered  to  the  friends  of 
the  deceased.  These  two — those  of  Privates  Henry  and 
Schneider — were  taken  to  the  Cypress  Hills  National  Ceme- 
tery, where  the  former  was  buried.  The  body  of  Schneider 
was  afterwards  placed  on  board  the  steamer  Ems^  for  trans- 
portation to  his  friends  in  Germany.  Immediately  after  the 
ceremony,  the  instruments,  relics,  and  all  other  property 
found  at  Camp  Clay  and  in  the  cache  on  Stalknecht  Island 
were  delivered  to  the  Post  Quartermaster. 

The  relief  squadron  had  now  performed  its  last  duty  to 
the  Lady  Franklin  Bay  Expedition,  and  its  work  was 
finished.  The  ships  proceeded  directly  to  the  Navy  Yard 
at  Brooklyn,  where  they  were  shortly  after  laid  up.  The 
oflScers  were  detached,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  crews 
were  discharged. 

The  work  done  by  the  Relief  Expedition  of  1884,  whether 
little  or  much,  may  be  judged  by  the  light  of  the  record. 
But  no  account  of  it  in  which  the  Commander  of  the  Expe- 
dition has  a  hand  would  be  complete  without  a  statement  on 
his  part  of  the  gallant  and  efficient  service  done  by  the  offi- 
cers and  men  of  the  three  relief  ships  who  served  under  his 
command,  not  only  in  their  untiring  and  unhesitating  zeal 
in  meeting  the  ordinary  calls  of  duty,  but  in  their  hearty  co- 
operation at  all  times  with  the  efforts  of  their  commander, 
and  in  their  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the  purposee  which  the 
expedition  had  in  view. 

THE   END. 


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